1. A microscope for observing a sample, comprising:
a stage portion having a stage surface configured to permit the sample to be contacted;
an image-pickup element arranged at an opposite side of the stage surface to receive an image of the object, and configured to convert an image of object into an electrical signal:
an optical system, having the optical axis extending in a straight line between the stage portion and the image-pickup element, configured to guide the optical image of the sample to the image-pickup element;
a light source unit including one light source configured to emit illumination light rays for illuminating the sample and a mechanism configured to alternatively locate the light source in any of first, second, and third irradiative positions for transmissive illumination, incident illumination, and oblique illumination, thereby selecting one of the transmissive illumination, incident illumination, and oblique illumination.
2. A microscope according to claim 1, wherein the optical system includes a zoom lens unit, and
the microscope further comprises
a base portion,
a plurality of support members supporting the stage portion on the base portion,
a lens frame supporting the zoom lens unit on the support members, and
a lens frame moving mechanism configured to move the lens frame along the optical axis.
3. A microscope according to claim 2, which further comprises a hollow rotating cylinder portion rotatably attached to the base portion and the stage portion, and wherein the optical system is received in the rotating cylinder portion, and the lens frame moving mechanism is actuated to move the lens frame along the optical axis as the rotating cylinder portion is rotated.
4. A microscope according to claim 1, wherein the optical system includes a lens for adjusting the focus of the optical system, and the microscope further comprises a fine-movement mechanism configured to finely move the focus adjusting lens in the direction of the optical axis, thereby focusing the optical system on the sample.
5. A microscope according to claim 1, wherein the light source unit includes an arm member configured to support the light source, which is attached to the stage portion for adjustable rotation, and the light source is alternatively located in one of the first, second, and third irradiative position as the arm member is rotated.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A dynamically tunable thin film interference coating including one or more layers with thermo-optically tunable refractive index.
2. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 1, where the one or more thermo-optic layers are semiconductor materials.
3. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 2, where the semiconductor materials are directly-deposited materials.
4. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 3, where the directly-deposited semiconductor materials are expitaxially-grown single-crystal layers.
5. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 3, where the directly-deposited materials are non-crystalline semiconductors.
6. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 5, where the non-crystalline semiconductors are in an amorphous state.
7. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 6, where the amorphous semiconductor is amorphous silicon or amorphous silicon germanium.
8. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 7, where the amorphous silicon or amorphous silicon germanium is deposited using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition.
9. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 5, where the non-crystalline semiconductors are microcrystalline materials.
10. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 5, where the non-crystalline semiconductors are polycrystalline materials.
11. The dynamically tunable thin film-interference coating of claim 10, where the polycrystalline semiconductor materials are directly deposited as amorphous or microcrystalline material and then recrystallized to polycrystalline state.
12. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 1, where a heating element is integrated with the tunable thin films.
13. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 12, where the heating element includes one or more optically-absorbing layers and heating is achieved through an optical signal.
14. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 12, where the heating element is a resistive electrical heater.
15. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 14, where the heating element is an integrated as layer in the optical thin film structure.
16. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 15, where the heating element is a doped region in a crystalline semiconductor substrate.
17. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 15, where the heating element is a directly-deposited transparent metallic oxide.
18. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 15, where the heating element is a directly-deposited doped thin film semiconductors.
19. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 15, where the heating element is a bulk recrystallized doped polycrystalline semiconductor.
20. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 1, where this coating is used to dynamically vary optical power transmission, reflection, or absorption as a function of optical wavelength.
21. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 20, where this coating is used as a dynamically tunable optical bandpass filter.
22. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 21, where this coating contains a single thermo-optically tunable optical cavity determining transmitted wavelength Fabry-Perot filter.
23. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 21, where this coating contains multiple thermo-optically tunable optical cavities determining transmitted wavelength.
24. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 21, where this coating is used as a part of a wavelength-tunable optical detector.
25. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 24, where this coating is used in a scanning optical spectrometer.
26. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 21, where this coating is used as a tunable add-drop filter for optical communications.
27. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 20, where this coating is used to vary relative transmission or reflection per wavelength over a range of wavelengths.
28. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 27, where this coating is used as part of a spectral equalizer or spectral filter that is tunable over a range of wavelengths.
29. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 20, where this coating is used to vary overall transmission or reflection over a range of wavelengths.
30. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 29, where this coating is used as part of a variable optical attenuator where loss is tunable over a range of wavelengths.
31. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 1, where this coating is used to dynamically vary optical phase as a function of wavelength in reflection or transmission.
32. The dynamically tunable thin film interference coating of claim 31, where this coating is used to dynamically control chromatic dispersion in an optical communications system.