A confocal detection system and method

Abstract

This application provides a confocal detection system and method, relating to the field of photoelectric detection technology. The system includes a light source component, a spatial light modulation component, an optical path component, and an imaging component. The light source component is configured to emit a first beam and a second beam with different light wavelengths. The spatial light modulation component is configured to project the first beam and the second beam into a synchronized first pattern beam and a second pattern beam. The optical path component is configured to project the first pattern beam onto the imaging component via a first optical path, project the second pattern beam onto the area to be imaged via a second optical path, and receive the second pattern beam reflected from the area to be imaged and project it onto the imaging component. The imaging component is configured to acquire a target image corresponding to the first pattern beam and the reflected second pattern beam. The projection area of ​​the first pattern beam on the detection surface of the imaging component defines the effective projection area of ​​the reflected second pattern beam on the detection surface. This application can significantly improve detection efficiency and stability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of photoelectric detection technology, and in particular to a confocal detection system and method. Background Technology

[0002] Confocal detection technology determines the focal point or sample height by focusing a light beam onto the sample surface and detecting the intensity changes of the reflected light at different focal lengths. Traditional confocal systems typically incorporate a physical pinhole or slit at the detector end to suppress defocus interference. However, this method often employs single-point scanning, resulting in low detection efficiency and difficulty in meeting the demands of large-area, high-speed measurements. Furthermore, pinholes or slits significantly affect light throughput, making them unsuitable for weak-signal samples. Additionally, the requirement for strict mechanical alignment not only increases the difficulty of system assembly and adjustment but also makes the system susceptible to mechanical vibration and temperature drift, leading to poor stability.

[0003] To improve efficiency and detection results, existing technologies typically employ spatial light modulators to generate scanning patterns such as dot matrices, enabling multi-point confocal detection. For example, patent CN102589471A uses a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) as a spatial light modulator. By controlling the micromirrors on the DMD chip, it forms an array of pinholes of arbitrary shapes, achieving parallel scanning and improving scanning efficiency and light energy utilization. Patent CN106767400A uses a spatial light modulator to simulate the structural detection function distribution within the pinhole range, performs spatial frequency domain modulation on the detection light signal, and further uses a photodetector instead of a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) to collect light intensity, thereby increasing exposure speed and further optimizing detection efficiency. Patent CN103226238A utilizes different phase drive maps loaded into a reflective liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) spatial light modulator to perform two-dimensional deflection of the beam, thereby achieving non-mechanical lateral scanning and improving scanning accuracy and repeatability.

[0004] However, in the confocal implementation based on spatial pattern projection and detector signal gating, the system usually needs to accurately determine the effective signal area corresponding to the current projection pattern at the detector end. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a spatial correspondence between the projection pattern of the spatial light modulator and the detector pixels. For example, the mapping relationship between the two can be established through pre-calibration at the factory. However, this method is complex and costly. In actual optical systems, the actual imaging position of the projection pattern on the detector is often shifted or distorted due to aberrations, field curvature, assembly and adjustment errors, and device manufacturing errors. This makes it difficult to maintain a stable and accurate correspondence between the projector and the detector, and the pre-calibration data is prone to failure, thereby affecting the equipment's production efficiency, stability, and maintainability. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a confocal detection system and method that can realize a dynamic digital pinhole mechanism, significantly improving detection efficiency and stability while reducing assembly complexity.

[0006] On the one hand, this application provides a confocal detection system, which includes a light source assembly, a spatial light modulation assembly, an optical path assembly, and an imaging assembly; The light source assembly is configured to emit a first beam and a second beam with different light bands; The spatial light modulation component is configured to project the first beam as a first patterned beam and the second beam as a second patterned beam, wherein the first patterned beam and the second patterned beam are generated synchronously. The optical path assembly is configured to project the first patterned beam onto the imaging assembly via a first optical path, project the second patterned beam onto the area to be imaged via a second optical path, and receive the second patterned beam reflected from the area to be imaged and project the reflected second patterned beam onto the imaging assembly. The imaging component is configured to acquire a target image including a first pattern corresponding to the first pattern beam and a second pattern corresponding to the reflected second pattern beam, wherein the projection area of ​​the first pattern beam on the detection surface of the imaging component defines the effective projection area of ​​the reflected second pattern beam on the detection surface.

[0007] In a possible implementation, the spatial light modulation component is specifically configured to synchronously emit the first pattern beam and the second pattern beam at the same spatial coding position.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the spatial coding patterns of the first pattern beam and the second pattern beam are consistent.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the first optical path includes a first sub-optical path and a second sub-optical path arranged sequentially along the optical transmission direction, and the second optical path includes a third sub-optical path and a fourth sub-optical path arranged sequentially along the optical transmission direction. The first sub-optical path coincides with the third sub-optical path, while the second sub-optical path and the fourth sub-optical path are set independently of each other.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the optical path assembly includes a first beam splitter disposed in the first optical path and the second optical path; The first patterned beam is projected onto the imaging component after passing through the first beam splitter, the second patterned beam is projected onto the imaging area after passing through the first beam splitter, and the reflected second patterned beam is projected onto the imaging component after passing through the first beam splitter.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the optical path assembly further includes a second beam splitter disposed in the second optical path; The second patterned beam is projected onto the imaging area after passing through the first beam splitter and the second beam splitter, and the reflected second patterned beam is projected onto the imaging component after passing through the second beam splitter and the first beam splitter.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the second beam splitter can transmit the second patterned beam and reflect the first patterned beam.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the spatial light modulation component includes at least one of a digital micromirror device, a liquid crystal spatial light modulator, a liquid crystal light valve, a MEMS scanning mirror array, or a microlens array.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the imaging assembly includes at least one of a color CCD detector, a color CMOS detector, a multispectral camera, a detector with a color filter array, and a plurality of monochromatic detectors with a beam splitter.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the system further includes a control device configured to: Based on the target image, extract the first image corresponding to the first patterned beam and the second image corresponding to the reflected second patterned beam; The first image is subjected to illumination area identification to obtain a first image identification result, which is used to indicate the projection area of ​​the first patterned beam on the detection surface of the imaging component. Based on the first image recognition result, an effective image region in the second image is determined. The effective image region is the image region corresponding to the effective projection region of the reflected second pattern beam on the detection surface.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the control device is further configured to: For the second image, optical analysis is performed on the pixel information corresponding to the reflected second pattern beam in the effective image area to obtain the optical analysis result. On the other hand, a confocal detection method is provided, applied to a confocal detection system, the method comprising: The light source assembly emits a first beam and a second beam with different light wavelengths; The spatial light modulation component projects the first beam into a first pattern beam and the second beam into a second pattern beam, with the first and second pattern beams being generated synchronously. The optical path assembly projects the first patterned beam onto the imaging assembly via a first optical path, projects the second patterned beam onto the area to be imaged via a second optical path, and receives the second patterned beam reflected from the area to be imaged and projects the reflected second patterned beam onto the imaging assembly. The imaging component acquires a target image including a first pattern corresponding to the first pattern beam and a second pattern corresponding to the reflected second pattern beam. The projection area of ​​the first pattern beam on the detection surface of the imaging component defines the effective projection area of ​​the reflected second pattern beam on the detection surface.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: Based on the target image, extract the first image corresponding to the first patterned beam and the second image corresponding to the reflected second patterned beam; The first image is subjected to illumination area identification to obtain a first image identification result, which is used to indicate the effective projection area of ​​the first patterned beam on the detection surface of the imaging component. Based on the first image recognition result, an effective image region in the second image is determined. The effective image region is the image region corresponding to the effective projection region of the reflected second pattern beam on the detection surface.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: For the second image, optical analysis is performed on the pixel information corresponding to the effective image area of ​​the reflected second pattern beam to obtain the optical analysis result.

[0019] On the other hand, an electronic device is provided, the device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing at least one instruction or at least one program, the at least one instruction or the at least one program being loaded and executed by the processor to implement the confocal detection method as described above.

[0020] On the other hand, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein at least one instruction or at least one program is stored therein, the at least one instruction or the at least one program being loaded and executed by a processor to implement the confocal detection method as described above.

[0021] On the other hand, a computer program product is provided, which includes computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the confocal detection method described above.

[0022] On the other hand, a photoelectric detection device is provided, including the confocal detection system described above.

[0023] The confocal detection system, method, storage medium, electronic device, computer program product, and photoelectric detection device provided in this application have the following technical advantages: The confocal detection system of this application includes a light source component, a spatial light modulation component, an optical path component, and an imaging component. The light source component is configured to emit a first beam and a second beam with different light bands, and is synchronously projected into a first pattern beam and a second pattern beam through the spatial light modulation component, thereby enabling quasi-synchronous imaging. The optical path component projects a first patterned beam onto the imaging component via a first optical path, without passing through the area to be imaged. The second patterned beam is then projected onto the area to be imaged via a second optical path and reflected back to the imaging component, forming a target image carrying information from the first and reflected second patterned beams. Since the relative positions of the first and second patterned beams in the spatial light modulation component are known, the projection area of ​​the first patterned beam can serve as a spatial marker to define the effective projection area of ​​the second patterned beam. This allows the optical signal analysis to be focused on the effective detection area, thereby constructing a dynamic digital pinhole mechanism at the imaging detection end. This not only avoids the various defects introduced by the physical aperture structure, significantly improving detection efficiency and stability and reducing assembly complexity, but also eliminates the need to pre-establish the spatial correspondence between the spatial light modulation component and the imaging component. This avoids spatial distortion caused by aberrations, optical path offsets, and assembly errors, as well as the resulting calibration position errors, reducing equipment assembly requirements and costs, and further improving the detection stability, accuracy, and maintainability of the confocal system. Attached Figure Description

[0024] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions and advantages in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a confocal detection system provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of another confocal detection system provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of another confocal detection system provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure descriptions: 10-Light source assembly, 20-Spatial light modulation assembly, 30-Optical path assembly, 301-First lens assembly, 302-Second lens assembly, 303-Objective lens, 304-Reflector, 305-First beam splitter, 306-Second beam splitter, 40-Imaging assembly, 50-Imaging area, 601-First beam, 602-Second beam, 603-First patterned beam, 604-Second patterned beam, D1-First optical path, D2-Second optical path, D3-Reflected optical path, D11-First sub-optical path, D21-Second sub-optical path, D12-Third sub-optical path, D22-Fourth sub-optical path. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0027] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of this application described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or server that comprises a series of steps or sub-modules is not necessarily limited to those steps or sub-modules explicitly listed, but may include other steps or sub-modules not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0028] The following is in conjunction with the appendix Figure 1-3 This application provides a confocal detection system, including a light source assembly 10, a spatial light modulation assembly 20, an optical path assembly 30, and an imaging assembly 40. The light source assembly 10 emits a functional beam, specifically including a first beam 601 and a second beam 602. The spatial light modulation assembly 20 spatially encodes the functional beam to form a desired patterned beam. The optical path assembly 30 performs processing on the patterned beam, such as beam straightening, projection, or beam splitting. The imaging assembly 40 receives and acquires the projected patterned beam to form an image carrying optical signal information.

[0029] In some embodiments, the system also includes a control device for synchronously controlling the operating timing of the light source assembly 10, the spatial light modulation assembly 20, and the imaging assembly 40, so that the first pattern beam and the second pattern beam complete projection and acquisition within the same sampling period.

[0030] Among them, reference Figure 1-2 The light source assembly 10 is configured to emit a first light beam 601 and a second light beam 602 of different light bands. The first light beam 601 and the second light beam 602 belong to different light bands. The first light beam 601 can be visible light, and the second light beam 602 can be non-visible light. Alternatively, the first light beam 601 and the second light beam 602 can be non-visible light of different light bands, or the first light beam 601 and the second light beam 602 can be visible light of different light bands. For example, the first light beam 601 can be blue light, and the second light beam 602 can be red light, or the first light beam 601 can be blue light, and the second light beam 602 can be green light. Alternatively, any other two types of light that can be spectrally distinguished and collected by the imaging assembly 40 can be used.

[0031] Specifically, one of the first beam 601 and the second beam 602 serves as an indicator light, and the other of the first beam 601 and the second beam 602 serves as a probe light. For example, the first beam 601 can be used as an indicator light for spatial marking, and the second beam 602 can be used as a probe light for imaging the area to be imaged 50, etc.

[0032] In some embodiments, the light source assembly 10 can simultaneously generate a first beam 601 and a second beam 602 to emit a mixed light composed of the first beam 601 and the second beam 602. In one example, the light source assembly 10 may include a multi-wavelength light source to simultaneously emit beams of at least two optical bands. In another example, the light source assembly 10 may include a broadband light source and a beam splitter, which may include a beam splitter, a filter, etc., to process the broadband beam emitted by the broadband light source into the simultaneously emitted first beam 601 and second beam 602. It should be noted that the configuration of the light source assembly 10 is not limited to the above examples, and may also be composed of other optical devices capable of simultaneously emitting beams of different optical bands, which will not be enumerated here.

[0033] The spatial light modulation component 20 is configured to project the first beam 601 into a first pattern beam 603 and the second beam 602 into a second pattern beam 604. The first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 are generated synchronously to form a mixed pattern beam.

[0034] Specifically, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2The spatial light modulation component 20 is a component capable of spatially encoding the incident first beam 601 and the second beam 602 to output a first patterned beam 603 corresponding to the first beam 601 and a second patterned beam 604 corresponding to the second beam 602. Exemplarily, the spatial light modulation component 20 may include, but is not limited to, a digital micromirror device (DMD), a liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) spatial light modulator, a liquid crystal light valve, or at least one of a MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) scanning mirror array, a microlens array, or other devices capable of spatial beam modulation and pattern projection to achieve the patterned beam projection function.

[0035] Specifically, the first beam 601 and the second beam 602 are projected onto the spatial light modulation component 20. The spatial light modulation component 20 spatially encodes the first beam 601 and the second beam 602 based on a preset pattern, so that the first beam 601 is projected as a first pattern to obtain a first pattern beam 603, and the second beam 602 is projected as a second pattern to obtain a second pattern beam 604. The first pattern and the second pattern can be the same or different.

[0036] Specifically, the spatial light modulation component 20 can simultaneously project the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 to the optical path component 30, and then simultaneously project them to the imaging component 40. Understandably, since the spatial coding position of the first pattern beam 603 and the spatial coding position of the second pattern beam 604 in the spatial light modulation component 20 are determined, the relative position of the mapping area of ​​the first pattern beam 603 and the mapping area of ​​the second pattern beam 604 in the imaging component 40 is also determined. By simultaneously emitting the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 from the spatial light modulation component 20, the effective projection area of ​​the second pattern beam 604 can be dynamically updated based on the projection area of ​​the first pattern beam 603 within the same time frame. This ensures beam filtering accuracy while avoiding the use of a physical aperture, and eliminates the need for pre-calibrating the relative position between the spatial light modulation component 20 and the imaging component 40. This effectively eliminates the dependence on spatial calibration in traditional systems and avoids the alignment error caused by spatial distortion.

[0037] Among them, reference Figure 1 and Figure 2The optical path assembly 30 is configured to project a first patterned beam 603 onto the imaging assembly 40 via a first optical path D1, project a second patterned beam 604 onto the imaging area 50 via a second optical path D2, and receive the second patterned beam 604 reflected from the imaging area 50 and project the reflected second patterned beam 604 onto the imaging assembly 40 via a portion of the optical path assembly 30. The imaging assembly 40 is configured to acquire a target image including a first pattern corresponding to the first patterned beam 603 and a second pattern corresponding to the reflected second patterned beam 604. The projection area of ​​the first patterned beam 603 on the detection surface of the imaging assembly 40 defines the effective projection area of ​​the reflected second patterned beam 604 on the detection surface.

[0038] Specifically, the optical path component 30 is used to control the beam direction, transmission path, and beam splitting of the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604. Through the optical path component 30, the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 of different optical bands can be transmitted through different optical paths, allowing the first pattern beam 603 to bypass the imaging area 50 and be projected onto the imaging component 40, achieving precise digital aperture projection. This ensures accurate marking of the relative positional relationship between the beam pattern projected by the spatial light modulation component 20 and the imaging component 40 in the current time frame. The second pattern beam 604, as a probe light, illuminates the imaging area 50 and is reflected by the imaging area 50. The reflected second pattern beam 604 carries information such as the structure, material, or focusing state of the imaging area 50 and is projected onto the imaging component 40 via a portion of the optical path component 30. Thus, by using the real-time projection of the indicator light onto the detection surface of the imaging component 40, i.e. the real-time projected first pattern, as a spatial marker, the imaging component 40 can automatically identify the projection area on the detection surface corresponding to the first pattern projected by the current indicator light, i.e. the effective detection area. Therefore, confocal detection can be completed without establishing a pre-established spatial mapping relationship, which greatly reduces the assembly and adjustment complexity of the system.

[0039] Specifically, the imaging component 40 can distinguish and synchronously acquire optical signals of different wavelengths. Specifically, it can simultaneously acquire the spatial distribution information of the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 on the detection surface of the imaging component 40 within a single exposure or the same sampling period. For example, the imaging component 40 may include a color CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) detector or a color CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) detector, etc., using the RGB pixel structure of the detector to distinguish optical signals of different wavelengths, so that the target image carries distinguishable first optical signal information of the first pattern beam 603 and second optical signal information of the reflected second pattern beam 604. Alternatively, the imaging component 40 may include a multispectral camera, a detector with a color filter array, or multiple monochromatic detectors with a beam splitter. That is, the first pattern beam 603 and the reflected second pattern beam 604 are projected onto their respective monochromatic detectors by beam splitters or other beam splitting devices, thereby achieving independent acquisition of the first and second optical signal information.

[0040] Specifically, the projection area of ​​the first patterned beam 603 on the detector surface refers to the area defined by the projection of the first patterned beam 603 onto the detector surface. For example, if the first pattern is annular, the projection area is the area framed by the annular shape on the detector surface or the annular coverage area. If the first pattern is a circular spot, the projection area is the area covered by the circular spot on the detector surface. Correspondingly, the effective projection area of ​​the second patterned beam 604 on the detector surface is defined by the projection area of ​​the first patterned beam 603 on the detector surface, that is, the overlapping area between the projection area of ​​the second patterned beam 604 on the detector surface and the projection area of ​​the first patterned beam 603. The portion of the reflected second patterned beam 604 located within this effective projection area is used as a beam that can be used for optical analysis. Accordingly, the pattern area formed by the beams within this effective projection area is an effective image area capable of optical analysis.

[0041] Understandably, after the first pattern beam 603 is projected through the optical path component 30, it is directly projected to the imaging component 40 through the first optical path D1 without passing through the imaging area 50. This allows the first pattern beam 603 to form a spatial mark on the detection surface of the imaging component 40 that changes synchronously with the currently projected pattern. Furthermore, the pattern coding relationship between the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 on the projection device (such as a dynamic array projector) of the spatial light modulation component 20 is preset and fixed. Therefore, the actual projection area of ​​the first pattern beam 603 on the detection surface can characterize the effective projection area of ​​the currently reflected second pattern beam 604 on the detection surface. Meanwhile, the projection areas of the first patterned beam 603 and the reflected second patterned beam 604 on the detection surface are formed in real time under the current optical state of the detection system. They naturally contain spatial offset information caused by factors such as optical aberrations, field curvature, imaging distortion, assembly and adjustment errors, and device installation deviations. Therefore, the first patterned beam 603 can not only mark the current effective projection area and thus determine the effective image area in the image, but also provide a dynamically updated spatial reference for the imaging component 40 to realize the dynamic update of the effective image area. This allows the system to automatically adapt to these changes during the detection process and achieve dynamic spatial matching. Even if there are slight changes in the optical system, it will not affect the determination of the effective image area, thereby significantly improving the stability and reliability of the system.

[0042] In summary, the confocal detection system of this application embodiment includes a light source assembly 10, a spatial light modulation assembly 20, an optical path assembly 30, and an imaging assembly 40. The light source assembly 10 is configured to emit a first light beam 601 and a second light beam 602 of different light bands, and is synchronously projected into a first patterned light beam 603 and a second patterned light beam 604 through the spatial light modulation assembly 20, thereby achieving synchronous imaging. The first patterned light beam 603 projected onto the optical path assembly 30 is projected onto the imaging assembly 40 via the first optical path D1, without passing through the imaging area 50. The second patterned beam 604 projected onto the optical path assembly 30 is projected onto the imaging area 50 via the second optical path D2. The second patterned beam 604 reflected from the imaging area 50 is projected onto the imaging assembly 40 via the reflection optical path D3. The imaging assembly 40 receives a target image carrying information about the first patterned beam 603 and the reflected second patterned beam 604. Since the relative positions of the first patterned beam 603 and the second patterned beam 604 in the spatial light modulation assembly 20 are known, the projection area of ​​the first patterned beam 603 on the detection surface can serve as a spatial marker to define the second patterned beam 604. 4. The effective projection area on the detection surface allows the optical signal analysis to be concentrated in the effective image area, thereby constructing a dynamic digital pinhole mechanism at the imaging detection end. This not only avoids the various defects introduced by the physical aperture structure, significantly improving detection efficiency and stability and reducing assembly complexity, but also eliminates the need to pre-establish the spatial correspondence between the spatial light modulation component 20 and the imaging component 40. This avoids spatial distortion caused by factors such as aberrations, optical path offset, and assembly errors, as well as the resulting calibration position errors, reducing equipment assembly requirements and costs, and further improving the detection stability, accuracy, and maintainability of the confocal system.

[0043] In some embodiments, the spatial light modulation component 20 is specifically configured to synchronously emit a first pattern beam 603 and a second pattern beam 604 from the same spatial coding position. Specifically, after the first beam 601 and the second beam 602 are projected onto the spatial light modulation component 20, the spatial light modulation component 20 emits the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 from the same spatial coding position, thereby synchronizing the emission positions of the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604. Accordingly, the theoretical projection areas of the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 on the imaging component 40 are consistent, thereby simplifying the position matching calculation between the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 and improving the effective projection area positioning efficiency.

[0044] In some embodiments, the spatial coding patterns of the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 are consistent. By setting the same spatial coding position for the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604, the theoretical projection areas of the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 on the detection surface of the imaging component 40 can be consistent. The overlapping area of ​​the projection area of ​​the second pattern beam 604 on the detection surface and the projection area of ​​the first pattern beam 603 on the detection surface of the imaging component 40 can be directly determined as the effective projection area. This avoids defocus light, background light or crosstalk between adjacent patterns, efficiently locates the effective projection area, reduces the difficulty and cost of subsequent image processing, and thus improves data analysis efficiency.

[0045] In some embodiments, the beam pattern of the first pattern beam 603 or the second pattern beam 604 may include, but is not limited to, one or a combination of at least two of the following: single point, dot matrix, line array, or stripe; or, it may include other patterns capable of realizing beam spatial encoding.

[0046] Understandably, this application constructs a digital pinhole structure at the imaging component end, achieving an optical selection function similar to a physical pinhole or slit in a traditional confocal system. Since the actual projection area corresponding to the first pattern beam 603 is only open to the first pattern beam 603 of the current frame, the reading of the second pattern beam 604 by the imaging component 40 is actually limited to the actual projection area corresponding to the current first pattern beam space. This spatial selection process can effectively reduce the influence of defocus light, crosstalk, and background light on the detection signal, thereby improving the signal-to-noise ratio and detection accuracy of the confocal signal. At the same time, due to the real-time generation of the first pattern beam, it can flexibly adapt to different scanning modes, such as dot matrix scanning, linear array scanning, or dynamic scanning modes, and has good system scalability. Correspondingly, the spatial light modulation component 20 can continuously switch the projected beam pattern, and the first pattern beam 603, which is dynamically changed in time and space, can meet different focusing or detection tasks. For example, the spatial light modulation component 20 can form a patterned beam such as a dot matrix or a line array, and perform spatial detection by dot matrix scanning or line array scanning. Alternatively, it can perform spatial detection by oblique projection, sparse dot matrix scanning, continuous scanning or other spatial encoding methods, as long as the first patterned beam 603 can form a corresponding spatial mark at the end of the imaging component 40, and the imaging component 40 can read the pixel information of the effective projection area of ​​the second patterned beam 604.

[0047] In some implementations, reference is made to Figure 1 and Figure 3The first optical path D1 and the second optical path D2 of the optical path assembly 30, which project the first patterned light beam 603, can partially overlap, thereby simplifying the component arrangement of the optical path assembly 30 and reducing space occupation. Accordingly, the first optical path D1 includes a first sub-optical path D11 and a second sub-optical path D12 arranged sequentially along the light transmission direction, and the second optical path D2 includes a third sub-optical path D21 and a fourth sub-optical path D22 arranged sequentially along the light transmission direction; the first sub-optical path D11 and the third sub-optical path D21 overlap, and the second sub-optical path D12 and the fourth sub-optical path D22 are arranged independently of each other.

[0048] Specifically, refer to Figure 3 The input ends of the first sub-optical path D11 and the third sub-optical path D21 receive the mixed light formed by the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604. Then, the first pattern beam 603 is projected onto the imaging component 40 via the second sub-optical path D12, and the second pattern beam 604 is projected onto the imaging area 50 via the fourth sub-optical path D22. The imaging area 50 reflects the second pattern beam 604, and the reflected second pattern beam 604 is projected onto the imaging component 40 via the reflection optical path D3.

[0049] In some implementations, reference is made to Figure 1 and Figure 3 The reflected optical path D3 can include a fourth sub-optical path D22 and a second sub-optical path D12. That is, the reflected optical path D3, the first optical path D1 and the second optical path D2 partially overlap with each other, further reducing the complexity of the optical path and the space occupied.

[0050] In some implementations, reference is made to Figure 3 The optical path assembly 30 may include an objective lens 303, which is aligned with the imaging area 50 and disposed in the fourth sub-optical path D22. The second pattern beam 604 is projected onto the imaging area 50 through the objective lens 303, and the objective lens 303 receives the second pattern beam 604 reflected by the imaging area 50.

[0051] In some embodiments, the optical path assembly 30 includes a first beam splitter 305 disposed in the first optical path D1 and the second optical path D2; the first patterned beam 603 is projected onto the imaging assembly 40 after passing through the first beam splitter 305, the second patterned beam 604 is projected onto the imaging area 50 after passing through the first beam splitter 305, and the reflected second patterned beam 604 is projected onto the imaging assembly 40 after passing through the first beam splitter 305.

[0052] Specifically, the first beam splitter 305 can be disposed on the first sub-optical path D11 and the third sub-optical path D21, that is, on the overlapping optical path segment of the first optical path D1 and the second optical path D2. After the mixed pattern beam passes through the first beam splitter 305, at least a portion of the first pattern beam 603 is separated from the mixed pattern beam and projected to the second sub-optical path D12, while the remaining beam is projected to the fourth sub-optical path D22. This allows the first beam splitter 305 to separate beams of different optical bands. Furthermore, the first beam splitter 305 can project the reflected second pattern beam 604, thereby achieving beam combining of the first pattern beam 603 and the reflected second pattern beam 604 to facilitate synchronous acquisition at the imaging component end.

[0053] In some embodiments, the optical path assembly 30 further includes a second beam splitter 306 disposed in the second optical path D2; the second patterned beam 604 is projected onto the imaging area 50 after passing through the first beam splitter 305 and the second beam splitter 306, and the reflected second patterned beam 604 is projected onto the imaging assembly 40 after passing through the second beam splitter 306 and the first beam splitter 305.

[0054] Specifically, the first beam splitter 305 performs initial separation of the mixed beam, separating at least a portion of the first patterned beam 603 to the second sub-optical path D12. The second beam splitter 306, located in the fourth sub-optical path D22, further separates the beam entering the fourth sub-optical path D22, thereby filtering out the remaining first patterned beam 603 and projecting the second patterned beam 604 onto the imaging area 50. Simultaneously, the second beam splitter 306 and the first beam splitter 305 sequentially project the second patterned beam 604 reflected through the objective lens 303 to the detection surface of the imaging assembly 40. Thus, by setting the first beam splitter 305 and the second beam splitter 306 to project the mixed patterned beam, the separation and transmission of beams of different optical bands are achieved, so that the first patterned beam 603 carries accurate position information and the second patterned beam 604 carries detection information, and the two beams are combined to facilitate simultaneous signal acquisition by the imaging assembly 40.

[0055] In some embodiments, the second beam splitter 306 can transmit the second patterned beam 604 and reflect the first patterned beam 603. Specifically, after being split by the first beam splitter 305, the beam entering the fourth sub-optical path D22 has the second patterned beam 604 passing through the second beam splitter 306, while the remaining first patterned beam 603 is reflected by the second beam splitter 306 and then by the first beam splitter 305, avoiding transmission through both the second and first beam splitters. This prevents the beam from entering the imaging assembly 40 via the third sub-optical path, thus avoiding interference with the combined beam and achieving filtering of this wavelength. The reflected second patterned beam 604 is transmitted through the second beam splitter 306, achieving reflected transmission.

[0056] In one embodiment, reference Figure 3 The optical path assembly 30 includes a first lens assembly 301, a second lens assembly 302, at least one reflector 304, a first beam splitter 305, a second beam splitter 306, and an objective lens 303. The first lens assembly 301 is located between the spatial light modulation assembly 20 and the reflector 304. The reflector 304 is disposed between the first lens assembly 301 and the first beam splitter 305. The second lens assembly 302 is located between the first beam splitter 305 and the imaging assembly 40. Specifically, the first lens assembly 301, at least one reflector 304, the first beam splitter 305, the second lens assembly 302, and the imaging assembly 40 form a first optical path D1. The first lens assembly 301, at least one reflector 304, the first beam splitter 305, the second beam splitter 306, and the objective lens 303 form a second optical path D2. The objective lens 303, the second beam splitter 306, the first beam splitter 305, the second lens assembly 302, and the imaging assembly 40 form a reflected optical path D3.

[0057] Among them, the first lens assembly 301, at least one reflector 304, and the first beam splitter 305 form a first sub-optical path D11 and a third sub-optical path D21 of the first optical path D1 and the second optical path D2, and the two sub-optical paths overlap. The first beam splitter 305, the second lens assembly 302, and the imaging assembly 40 form a second sub-optical path D12, and the first beam splitter 305, the second beam splitter 306, and the objective lens 303 form a fourth sub-optical path D22.

[0058] For example, the first lens assembly 301 and the second lens assembly 302 may each include a tube lens, the first beam splitter 305 may be a semi-reflective semi-transparent lens, and the second beam splitter 306 may be a dichroic mirror, such as a long-pass dichroic mirror.

[0059] Specifically, the light source assembly 10 synchronously emits a mixed beam formed by a first beam 601 and a second beam 602. After passing through the spatial light modulation assembly 20, the mixed beam forms a synchronously emitted first pattern beam 603 and a second pattern beam 604. The mixed pattern beam formed by the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 is collimated by the first lens assembly 301 and projected onto the first beam splitter 305 via the reflector 304. A portion of the first pattern beam 603 in the mixed pattern beam is projected onto the second lens assembly 302, and after being rectified, it is projected onto the second lens assembly 302. The first patterned beam 603 is transmitted through the imaging assembly 40 via the first optical path D1. The remaining portion of the mixed patterned beam, the first patterned beam 603 and the second patterned beam 604, is reflected by the first beam splitter 305 and projected onto the second beam splitter 306. The second beam splitter 306 filters out the remaining portion of the first patterned beam 603 from the mixed patterned beam and transmits the second patterned beam 604. The transmitted second patterned beam 604 is projected onto the imaging area 50 (such as the sample surface) via the objective lens 303, completing the second optical path D2 transmission of the second patterned beam 604. The imaging area 50 reflects the second patterned beam 604, forming a reflected second patterned beam 604 carrying information about the surface of the imaging area 50. The reflected second patterned beam 604 is transmitted through the objective lens 303, the second beam splitter 306, and the first beam splitter 305 before being projected onto the second lens assembly 302. It is then transmitted through the second lens assembly 302 to the imaging assembly 40, completing the reflected optical path D3 transmission of the reflected second patterned beam 604.

[0060] Understandably, traditional confocal inspection systems often require individual calibration during production, a process that is complex and time-consuming. This embodiment eliminates the need for this calibration step, allowing the equipment to be put into use immediately after basic optical assembly. This shortens the equipment debugging cycle, improves manufacturing efficiency, and reduces production costs.

[0061] Understandably, the imaging component 40 synchronously acquires the first patterned beam 603 and the reflected second patterned beam 604 to form a target image carrying optical information of two wavelengths. By separating the two optical signals in the target image, confocal detection can be achieved. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the system also includes a control device configured to: extract a first image corresponding to the first patterned beam 603 and a second image corresponding to the reflected second patterned beam 604 based on the target image; perform illumination area recognition on the first image to obtain a first image recognition result; and determine the effective image area in the second image based on the first image recognition result. The effective image area is the image area corresponding to the effective projection area of ​​the reflected second patterned beam on the detection surface, that is, the image area formed by the beam of the second patterned beam 604 within the effective projection area.

[0062] Specifically, within the same exposure time or sampling period, the imaging component 40 can separately acquire the optical signal information of the first patterned beam 603 and the reflected second patterned beam 604 to obtain the target image of the current period, i.e., the target image is the image frame of the current period. Analyzing the target image allows for the separation of the optical signal information of the two optical beams, thereby obtaining a first image and a second image. The first image carries the first optical signal information, and the second image carries the second optical signal information. For example, the separation and extraction of the first and second optical signal information can be achieved by extracting information from different channels in the target image.

[0063] In one embodiment, during signal processing, the target image data output by the imaging component 40 can be processed by channel separation, separating the color channel where the first patterned beam 603 is located from the channel where the second patterned beam 604 is located. For example, if the first beam 601 is red light and the second beam 602 is blue light, then the spatial distribution of the first patterned beam 603 is extracted in the red channel, and the spatial distribution of the reflected second patterned beam 604 is extracted in the blue channel.

[0064] Specifically, after the first image is extracted, image information analysis is performed on the first image to identify the illumination area corresponding to the first pattern beam 603 in the first image, and the first image recognition result is obtained. The first image recognition result is used to indicate the projection area of ​​the first pattern beam 603 on the detection surface of the imaging component 40, and correspondingly can indicate the effective projection area of ​​the second pattern beam 604 on the detection surface of the imaging component 40.

[0065] Understandably, the first patterned beam 603 includes a first sub-beam projected onto the imaging component 40 and a second sub-beam projected onto the second beam splitter 306. The first sub-beam is directly projected onto the detection surface of the imaging component 40 after passing through the optical path component 30. The first sub-beam is equivalent to a clean light signal, and its projection area on the detection surface is the area defined by the digital aperture that can be used for signal analysis. Correspondingly, the position of the illumination area corresponding to the first sub-beam in the first image indicates the projection position of the projection area of ​​the first patterned beam 603 on the detection surface, thereby defining the current effective detection area of ​​the detection surface.

[0066] Furthermore, since the spatial coding positions of the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 emitted from the spatial light modulation component 20 are preset and their relative positional relationship is fixed, the projection area of ​​the first pattern beam 603 on the detection surface can be determined based on the image area of ​​the first pattern beam in the first image indicated by the first image recognition result of the first pattern, and then mapped onto the second image to obtain the effective image area in the second image. It can be understood that the relative positional relationship between the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 in the spatial light modulation component 20 is consistent with the relative positional relationship between the actual projection area corresponding to the first pattern beam 603 and the actual projection area corresponding to the second pattern beam on the detection surface. For example, if the spatial coding positions of the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 are consistent, then the projection area corresponding to the first pattern beam 603 coincides with the projection area corresponding to the second pattern beam 604. Correspondingly, the position between the image area of ​​the first pattern in the first image and the image area of ​​the second pattern in the second image also coincides.

[0067] Specifically, the projection area corresponding to the first pattern beam 603 is the set of effective pixels currently participating in the confocal signal calculation, thereby limiting the pixel extraction range of the second beam 602 signal. The set of effective pixels is not obtained by pre-calibrating the relative positions between the spatial light modulation component 20 and the imaging component 40, but is directly generated by the real-time projection of the first pattern beam 603 at the current moment. It is synchronously acquired and dynamically updated in coordination with the second pattern beam 604. Therefore, it can be synchronously updated with the pattern switching of the spatial light modulation component 20, so as to dynamically determine the effective projection area of ​​the current projection pattern on the detection surface without relying on complex pre-calibration. This achieves effective suppression of defocused light and irrelevant signals, improves detection accuracy, and significantly reduces the assembly and adjustment complexity of the system.

[0068] In some implementations, image segmentation techniques can be used to identify the illumination region of the first image. For example, the first image can be thresholded based on its two-dimensional intensity distribution to obtain a binary image representing the foreground pixels (pixels of the first pattern) and background pixels. Based on the binary image, each connected foreground region in the first image is labeled, and a unique label is assigned to each connected foreground region. Region identification is performed on each identified connected foreground region, and region filtering or classification is performed based on the geometric features of the connected foreground regions, such as filtering out noise points with excessively small areas based on region area, to obtain effective connected foreground regions. Then, centerline extraction and region contour extraction are performed on the effective connected foreground regions to determine the contour skeleton (e.g., a single-pixel-wide line) of the pattern indicated by the effective connected foreground regions, thereby achieving pattern recognition of the first pattern beam 603 and obtaining the first image recognition result. Thus, by performing threshold segmentation, region identification, centerline extraction, and region contour extraction on the two-dimensional intensity distribution of the first image, the projection region of the first pattern beam 603 on the detection surface is determined, i.e., the illumination region corresponding to the first pattern beam 603 on the detection surface. Understandably, image recognition methods are not limited to the examples above, and there are other equivalent image processing methods that can recognize the projected area, which will not be enumerated here.

[0069] In some embodiments, the control device is further configured to: perform optical analysis on the corresponding pixel information of the second pattern beam 604 reflected in the effective image area for the second image, and obtain the optical analysis result, thereby realizing the analysis of the detection light area defined by the digital aperture under the indication of the first pattern beam 603, avoiding the influence of defocus diffused light, adjacent pattern crosstalk signals, background scattered light and irrelevant stray signals, and improving the confocal detection accuracy and reliability.

[0070] Specifically, after determining the effective projection area of ​​the second pattern beam 604, only the probe light signals (reflected second pattern beam signals) within the effective projection area in the second image undergo optical analysis processing such as image-based intensity reading, accumulation, integration, weighted averaging, or peak analysis. Probe light signals not falling within the effective projection area do not participate in subsequent confocal calculations. That is, only probe light signals spatially corresponding to the projection area of ​​the current indicator light (first pattern beam 603) are determined as effective confocal response signals under the current scanning pattern; probe light signals located in other areas may contain defocused diffuse light, adjacent pattern crosstalk signals, background scattered light, and irrelevant stray signals, which are suppressed or discarded. In this way, the first pattern beam 603 constructs a digital spatial gating structure on the probe surface that changes synchronously with the scanning process. Its function is equivalent to a physical aperture (such as a physical pinhole or slit) in a traditional confocal system. Compared with a physical aperture fixed at the probe end, the detection accuracy and assembly simplicity of this embodiment are better, and it can provide adaptive effective light area definition.

[0071] Understandably, the optical analysis of the embodiments of this application can be applied to different confocal detection scenarios, including but not limited to active focusing tasks, surface topography measurement tasks, etc. Specifically, it can be applied to microscopic inspection and industrial online inspection, etc. Accordingly, the optical analysis results can be adapted to different task scenarios.

[0072] The second patterned beam 604, projected by the spatial light modulation component 20, illuminates the surface of the imaging area 50 through the optical path component 30, and after reflection from the imaging area 50, returns to the detection surface of the imaging component 40 along the reflected light path D3. Due to the focus-selective characteristic of confocal detection, when a surface position of the imaging area 50 is near the focal plane, the light signal generated at the corresponding position on the detection surface in the reflected second patterned beam 604 exhibits high energy concentration and strong local intensity. When the surface position deviates from the focal plane, the reflected light spot diffuses spatially, its local intensity decreases, and it may cause crosstalk to neighboring areas. Therefore, the distribution imaging (second image) of the reflected second patterned beam 604 on the detection surface carries the focal position or height information of the imaging area 50.

[0073] Accordingly, in active focusing scenarios, the offset of the surface of the imaging area 50 (such as the sample surface) relative to the focal plane can be calculated based on the peak intensity, local extrema, fitting center, or other focus evaluation parameters of the second pattern beam 604 within the effective projection area. The imaging area 50, objective lens 303, or focusing mechanism can then be moved according to this offset to perform position compensation, thereby achieving active focusing. For surface topography measurement scenarios, the above active focusing process can be repeated at different spatial positions of the imaging area 50 to reconstruct the three-dimensional contour information of the sample.

[0074] Specifically, during the actual measurement process, the spatial light modulation component 20 dynamically changes the spatial coding pattern of the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604, such as switching between dot matrix, line array, stripe or other patterns. In each image frame or each sampling period, the corresponding projection area can be determined in real time based on the image area of ​​the first pattern in the current target image of the first pattern beam 603, and then the effective projection area corresponding to the second pattern beam 604 can be determined. The optical information of the reflected second pattern beam 604 can be extracted from the effective image area corresponding to the effective projection area in the second image.

[0075] Specifically, different optical analysis methods can be used for different spatial coding patterns. For example, for single-point detection mode, where the second pattern beam 604 is a point beam, the second image generated by the point beam on the detection surface can be obtained through different focal lengths, different scanning layers, or different focusing states. When the point beam image area is located in the effective image area of ​​the second image corresponding to the effective projection area indicated by the first image, the confocal peak position of the point beam is determined based on the pixel intensity change of the point beam in the second image under each state, thereby achieving active focusing or height detection. For temporal scanning of linear or dot array beams, effective projection area identification and light signal extraction of the second pattern beam 604 in the corresponding effective image area can be performed on multiple image frames (target images). Combined with the scanning time sequence, confocal response sequences at multiple spatial locations can be obtained, thereby achieving active focusing or surface morphology detection.

[0076] The following describes a confocal detection method provided by an embodiment of this application, applied to the aforementioned confocal detection system. This specification provides method operation steps as shown in the embodiments or flowcharts, but based on conventional or non-inventive methods, more or fewer operation steps may be included. The order of steps listed in the embodiments is merely one possible execution order among many and does not represent the only execution order. In actual system or server product execution, the method can be executed sequentially according to the embodiments or accompanying drawings, or in parallel (e.g., in a parallel processor or multi-threaded processing environment). Specifically, the method may include S201-S207: S201: The light source assembly 10 emits a first beam 601 and a second beam 602 of different light bands; S203: The spatial light modulation component 20 projects the first beam 601 into a first pattern beam 603 and the second beam 602 into a second pattern beam 604, and the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 are generated synchronously. S205: The optical path assembly 30 projects the first pattern beam 603 to the imaging assembly 40 through the first optical path D1, projects the second pattern beam 604 to the imaging area 50 through the second optical path D2, and receives the second pattern beam 604 reflected by the imaging area 50 and projects the reflected second pattern beam 604 to the imaging assembly 40. S207: Imaging component 40 acquires a target image including a first pattern corresponding to a first pattern beam 603 and a first pattern corresponding to a reflected second pattern beam 604. The projection area of ​​the first pattern beam 603 on the detection surface of imaging component 40 defines the effective projection area of ​​the reflected second pattern beam 604 on the detection surface.

[0077] In a possible implementation, the method further includes steps S209-S213: S209: Based on the target image, extract the first image corresponding to the first pattern beam 603 and the second image corresponding to the reflected second pattern beam 604; S211: Illumination area recognition is performed on the first image to obtain the first image recognition result. The first image recognition result is used to indicate the effective projection area of ​​the first pattern beam 603 on the detection surface of the imaging component 40. S213: Determine the effective image region in the second image based on the first image recognition result. The effective image region is the image region corresponding to the effective projection region of the reflected second pattern beam 604 on the detection surface.

[0078] In a possible implementation, the method further includes S215: S215: For the second image, perform optical analysis on the pixel information corresponding to the effective image area of ​​the reflected second pattern beam 604 to obtain the optical analysis result.

[0079] In a possible implementation, the method further includes S217-S219: S217: Determine at least one of the following based on the results of optical analysis: the focal position, the amount of defocus, or the height information of the area to be imaged 50; S219: Determine the focusing control amount based on at least one of the focal position or the amount of defocus, or determine the morphology detection result based on the height information.

[0080] It should be noted that the specific implementation methods of S201-S219 are consistent with those of the aforementioned system embodiments, and the similarities will not be repeated here.

[0081] In one embodiment, the spatial coding positions of the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern beam 604 are consistent, and they have consistent preset beam patterns. The control light source assembly 10 can work in conjunction with the spatial light modulation assembly 20 to synchronously generate the first beam 601 and the second beam 602, and encode them into the first pattern beam 603 (indicator light) and the second pattern beam 604 (probe light) according to a predetermined spatial coding relationship, thereby realizing the synchronous generation of the indicator light pattern and the probe light pattern. The first pattern beam 603 is used to form a spatial mark on the probe surface, and the second pattern beam 604 is used to illuminate the imaging area 50 and generate a reflected second pattern beam 604 as a confocal reflection signal.

[0082] Next, the detection surface of the imaging component 40 synchronously receives the light signals of the first pattern beam 603 and the reflected second pattern beam 604 within the same exposure cycle. The first pattern beam 603 is directly projected onto the detection surface via the first optical path D1, while the second pattern beam 604 is reflected from the area to be imaged 50 (e.g., the sample) and then projected onto the detection surface. The imaging component 40 acquires target image data containing different color channels to record the spatial intensity distribution of the first pattern beam 603 and the reflected second pattern beam 604 on the detection surface, thereby achieving image acquisition of the first pattern including the first pattern beam 603 and the second pattern including the reflected second pattern beam 604, and obtaining the target image.

[0083] Further, color channel separation is performed on the target image to extract the image data of the color channel where the first pattern beam 603 is located, thus obtaining the first image. Specifically, the first image can be subjected to threshold segmentation, connected component identification, centerline extraction, region contour extraction, or other equivalent processing to obtain the first image recognition result, thereby obtaining the actual projection area of ​​the current preset first pattern on the detection surface, and determining this area as the effective projection area of ​​the current image frame. This effective projection area is updated in real time as the preset first pattern is refreshed.

[0084] Furthermore, image data of the color channel where the second pattern beam 604 is located is extracted to obtain a second image. Based on the recognition result of the first image, the effective image region in the second image is determined. Then, the intensity of the probe light corresponding to the effective image region is processed by intensity reading, integration, weighted summation, or local peak analysis to obtain optical analysis results. Probe light signals located outside the effective projection region do not participate in the confocal operation of the current image frame. This achieves spatial gating of the effective confocal signal and suppresses defocused light, background light, and crosstalk from adjacent patterns.

[0085] Then, the optical analysis results acquired from different image frames, different scanning layers, or different focusing states are subjected to time-series analysis to obtain the intensity change curve of each effective pixel. Through peak search, fitting calculation, extreme value judgment, or other focus evaluation algorithms, at least one of the following—focus position, defocus amount, or height information—of the imaging area 50 is determined. In active focusing scenarios, focusing control quantities can be calculated based on the focus position or defocus amount, and output to drive the imaging area 50 to move according to the focusing control quantities. In topography measurement scenarios, the sample surface contour can be reconstructed based on the height information to output topography detection results.

[0086] Understandably, traditional multi-point or linear confocal array systems typically require factory calibration or pre-use calibration to obtain a mapping table between the projected pattern and the pixels on the detection surface, so that the corresponding pixel signal can be retrieved during measurement. However, this type of solution is sensitive to the system's assembly and adjustment status; once the optical path undergoes a slight change, the original mapping relationship may become invalid. This application synchronously projects a first pattern beam 603 and a second pattern beam 604 of different optical bands through the spatial light modulation component 20, enabling the detection surface to directly detect the actual projection area of ​​the current first pattern beam 603 on the detection surface in each sampling frame, thereby dynamically determining the effective projection area. Since this determination process is based on real-time optical results rather than historical calibration data, it is not necessary to pre-establish a fixed pixel mapping relationship between the spatial light modulation component 20 and the detection surface of the imaging component 40, avoiding a complex pre-calibration process and eliminating the need to re-establish the mapping relationship after a slight change in the optical system. This significantly improves the system's adaptability, assembly and adjustment tolerance, and engineering feasibility.

[0087] Furthermore, since the actual projection area corresponding to the first pattern beam 603 of the current frame is only valid for the second pattern beam 604 of the current frame, the pixel information reading of the detector facing the second pattern beam 604 is limited to the effective projection area that matches the current beam pattern space. This space selection process can effectively reduce the influence of defocus light, crosstalk and background light on the measurement results, improve the purity and signal-to-noise ratio of the confocal signal, not only simplify the system calibration process, but also maintain high focus discrimination accuracy and detection stability in multi-point, linear array and dynamic scanning modes.

[0088] In summary, compared with existing confocal detection systems, this application introduces two different wavelength light beams and uses one of them as a spatial indication signal. The imaging component 40 synchronously acquires the two different wavelength light signals, combines this with the real-time generation of the projection area by the first pattern beam 603, and performs limited reading of pixel information within the effective projection area of ​​the second pattern beam 604. This constructs a digital pinhole confocal signal extraction mechanism that does not require pre-calibration, realizing dynamic digital pinhole detection. This mechanism can achieve adaptive matching between the projected pattern and the pixels on the detection surface under complex optical error conditions, enabling stable and reliable confocal signal extraction, focus determination, active focus control, or height measurement, thereby overcoming the shortcomings of existing multi-point confocal systems that rely on static mapping calibration.

[0089] It should be noted that the above-described confocal detection system and method embodiments are based on the same implementation method.

[0090] This application provides an electronic device, including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores at least one instruction or at least one program, which is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the confocal detection method provided in the above method embodiments.

[0091] Memory can be used to store software programs and modules. The processor executes these stored software programs and modules to perform various functional applications and detect anomalies. Memory can primarily include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area stores the operating system, application programs required for functions, etc.; the data storage area stores data created based on device usage, etc. Furthermore, memory can include high-speed random access memory (RAM) and non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, or other volatile solid-state storage device. Accordingly, memory can also include memory control devices to provide the processor with access to the memory.

[0092] Embodiments of this application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, which can be disposed in an electronic device to store at least one instruction or at least one program related to implementing an anomaly detection method in the method embodiments. The at least one instruction or the at least one program is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the confocal detection method provided in the above method embodiments.

[0093] Optionally, in this embodiment, the storage medium may be located at at least one of the multiple network servers in a computer network. Optionally, in this embodiment, the storage medium may include, but is not limited to, various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), portable hard drives, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0094] According to one aspect of this application, a computer program product or computer program is provided, comprising computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor of a computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the computer device to perform the methods provided in the various alternative implementations described above.

[0095] It should be noted that the order of the embodiments described above is merely for descriptive purposes and does not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments. Furthermore, the above description focuses on specific embodiments of this application. Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions or steps described in the claims can be performed in a different order than that shown in the embodiments and still achieve the desired results. Additionally, the processes depicted in the drawings do not necessarily require a specific or sequential order to achieve the desired results. In some implementations, multitasking and parallel processing are also possible or may be advantageous.

[0096] The various embodiments in this application are described in a progressive manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, the device, equipment, and storage medium embodiments are basically similar to the method embodiments, so the descriptions are relatively simple; relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions of the method embodiments.

[0097] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of the above embodiments can be implemented by hardware, or by a program instructing the relevant hardware to implement them. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory, a disk, or an optical disk.

[0098] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A confocal detection system, characterized in that, The confocal detection system includes a light source component (10), a spatial light modulation component (20), an optical path component (30), and an imaging component (40). The light source assembly (10) is configured to emit a first beam (601) and a second beam (602) of different light bands. The spatial light modulation component (20) is configured to project the first beam (601) into a first pattern beam (603) and the second beam (602) into a second pattern beam (604), wherein the first pattern beam (603) and the second pattern beam (604) are generated synchronously. The optical path assembly (30) is configured to project the first patterned beam (603) onto the imaging assembly (40) via the first optical path (D1), project the second patterned beam (604) onto the imaging area (50) via the second optical path (D2), and receive the second patterned beam (604) reflected from the imaging area (50) and project the reflected second patterned beam (604) onto the imaging assembly (40). The imaging component (40) is configured to acquire a target image including a first pattern corresponding to the first pattern beam (603) and a second pattern corresponding to the reflected second pattern beam (604), wherein the projection area of ​​the first pattern beam (603) on the detection surface of the imaging component (40) defines the effective projection area of ​​the reflected second pattern beam (604) on the detection surface.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spatial light modulation component (20) is specifically configured to synchronously emit the first pattern beam (603) and the second pattern beam (604) through the same spatial coding position.

3. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The spatial coding patterns of the first pattern beam (603) and the second pattern beam (604) are consistent.

4. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first optical path (D1) includes a first sub-optical path (D11) and a second sub-optical path (D12) arranged sequentially along the optical transmission direction, and the second optical path (D2) includes a third sub-optical path (D21) and a fourth sub-optical path (D22) arranged sequentially along the optical transmission direction; The first sub-optical path (D11) coincides with the third sub-optical path (D21), while the second sub-optical path (D12) and the fourth sub-optical path (D22) are set independently of each other.

5. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The optical path assembly (30) includes a first beam splitter (305) disposed in the first optical path (D1) and the second optical path (D2). The first patterned beam (603) is projected onto the imaging component (40) after passing through the first beam splitter (305), the second patterned beam (604) is projected onto the imaging area (50) after passing through the first beam splitter (305), and the reflected second patterned beam (604) is projected onto the imaging component (40) after passing through the first beam splitter (305).

6. The system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The optical path assembly (30) further includes a second beam splitter (306) disposed in the second optical path (D2); The second patterned beam (604) is projected onto the imaging area (50) after passing through the first beam splitter (305) and the second beam splitter (306), and the reflected second patterned beam (604) is projected onto the imaging component (40) after passing through the second beam splitter (306) and the first beam splitter (305).

7. The system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The second beam splitter (306) can transmit the second patterned beam (604) and reflect the first patterned beam (603).

8. The system according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The system also includes a control device configured to: Based on the target image, extract the first image corresponding to the first patterned beam (603) and the second image corresponding to the reflected second patterned beam (604); The first image is subjected to illumination area identification to obtain a first image identification result. The first image identification result is used to indicate the projection area of ​​the first pattern beam (603) on the detection surface of the imaging component (40). Based on the first image recognition result, the effective image region in the second image is determined. The effective image region is the image region corresponding to the effective projection region of the reflected second pattern beam (604) on the detection surface.

9. The system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The control device is also configured to: For the second image, optical analysis is performed on the pixel information corresponding to the reflected second pattern beam (604) in the effective image area to obtain the optical analysis result.

10. The system according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The confocal detection system satisfies at least one of the following characteristics: The spatial light modulation component (20) includes at least one of a digital micromirror device, a liquid crystal spatial light modulator, a liquid crystal light valve, a MEMS scanning mirror array, or a microlens array. The imaging assembly (40) includes at least one of a color CCD detector, a color CMOS detector, a multispectral camera, a detector with a color filter array, and a plurality of monochromatic detectors with a beam splitter.

11. A confocal detection method, applied to a confocal detection system, characterized in that, The method includes: The light source assembly (10) emits a first beam (601) and a second beam (602) of different light bands. The spatial light modulation component (20) projects the first beam (601) into a first pattern beam (603) and the second beam (602) into a second pattern beam (604), wherein the first pattern beam (603) and the second pattern beam (604) are generated synchronously; The optical path assembly (30) projects the first pattern beam (603) onto the imaging assembly (40) via the first optical path (D1), projects the second pattern beam (604) onto the area to be imaged (50) via the second optical path (D2), and receives the second pattern beam (604) reflected from the area to be imaged (50) and projects the reflected second pattern beam (604) onto the imaging assembly (40). The imaging component (40) acquires a target image including a first pattern corresponding to the first pattern beam (603) and a second pattern corresponding to the reflected second pattern beam (604). The projection area of ​​the first pattern beam (603) on the detection surface of the imaging component (40) defines the effective projection area of ​​the reflected second pattern beam (604) on the detection surface.

Images