A process is provided for imaging a surface of a specimen with an imaging system that employs a BD objective having a darkfield channel and a bright field channel, the BD objective having a circumference. The specimen is obliquely illuminated through the darkfield channel with a first arced illuminating light that obliquely illuminates the specimen through a first arc of the circumference. The first arced illuminating light reflecting off of the surface of the specimen is recorded as a first image of the specimen from the first arced illuminating light reflecting off the surface of the specimen, and a processor generates a 3D topography of the specimen by processing the first image through a topographical imaging technique. Imaging apparatus is also provided as are further process steps for other embodiments.

A device for recording images is provided, an image-recording device and an illumination device being arranged on the same side of a specimen plane in said device. The image-recording device has illumination portions, for example individual light sources, which are actuatable independently of one another in order to be able to illuminate a specimen in the specimen plane at different angles and/or from different directions. In this way, it is possible to record a plurality of images with different illuminations, which can be combined to form a results image with improved properties.

An inspection system and a method for inspection an object. The method may include acquiring a defocused image of an area of an object, and processing the defocused image of the area to find a phase shift between optical paths associated with certain proximate points of the area. The phase shift may be indicative of a defect. The acquiring of the defocused image may include illuminating the area with a radiation beam that may be spatially coherent and collimated when impinging on the area. The illuminating may include passing the radiation beam through an aperture that may be defined by an aperture stop that may be positioned within an aperture stop plane. The size of the aperture may be a fraction of a size of the aperture stop.

A microscope system includes: a stage on which a specimen is mounted; one or more light sources configured to emit light irradiating the specimen; an illumination optical system configured to irradiate the specimen with the light; an operating unit configured to receive selection of the light sources and setting of the state and/or an amount of light; a focusing unit configured to move in a direction orthogonal to a mounting surface and adjust the distance between the stage and an objective lens; an imaging unit configured to image the observation image of the specimen and generate image data; and a combined image generating unit configured to combine the image data and generate combined image data. The microscope system enables selection of the state of optical elements constituting the illumination optical system and selection of the type, the state, and an amount of light of the light source.

Methods, devices, systems, and apparatuses are provided for the image analysis of measurement of biological samples. Specifically, methods are provided for detecting and measuring, in a sample, cell morphology; measurement of cell numbers; detection of particles; measurement of particle numbers; and other properties and quantities of or in a sample. Some embodiments may use a sample holder comprising a sample chamber configured to hold said sample, at least a portion of said sample holder comprising an optically transmissive material, said optically transmissive material comprising an optically transmissive surface and a reflective surface.

A microscope, including: an illumination optical system that irradiates a specimen with illumination light from an oblique direction; an observation optical system including an objective lens; and a controller that moves at least one of a stage to hold the specimen and the objective lens in a same direction as an optical axis of the objective lens. The controller changes, when moving at least one of the stage and the objective lens, an incident angle of the illumination light with respect to the specimen.

An instrument for scanning a specimen on a specimen holder. The instrument includes a scanning stage for supporting the specimen and a detector having a plurality of pixels. The scanning stage and the detector are movable relative to each other to move the specimen in a scan direction during a scan, and at least some of the pixels of the detector are operable to collect light inside the specimen during the scan and generate corresponding image data. The instrument also includes a processor operable to perform MSIA on the image data and to generate two or more strip images. Each strip image has a different effective exposure. The processor combines the two or more strip images to generate an increased dynamic range (IDR) image of the specimen.

A microscope comprising an illumination assembly, an image capture device and a processor can be configured to selectively identify regions of a sample comprising artifacts or empty space. By selectively identifying regions of the sample that have artifacts or empty space, the amount of time to generate an image of the sample and resources used to generate the image can be decreased substantially while providing high resolution for appropriate regions of the computational image. The processor can be configured to change the imaging process in response to regions of the sample that comprises artifacts or empty space. The imaging process may comprise a higher resolution process to output higher resolution portions of the computational image for sample regions comprising valid sample material, and a lower resolution process to output lower resolution portions of the computational image for sample regions comprising valid sample material.

Certain embodiments pertain to parallel digital imaging acquisition and restoration methods and systems.

A fluorescence microscopy inspection system includes light sources able to emit light that causes a specimen to fluoresce and light that does not cause a specimen to fluoresce. The emitted light is directed through one or more filters and objective channels towards a specimen. A ring of lights projects light at the specimen at an oblique angle through a darkfield channel. One of the filters may modify the light to match a predetermined bandgap energy associated with the specimen and another filter may filter wavelengths of light reflected from the specimen and to a camera. The camera may produce an image from the received light and specimen classification and feature analysis may be performed on the image.