Measurement apparatus, measurement method, and correction method

Abstract

To provide a measurement apparatus, a measurement method, and a correction method, capable of acquiring a scanned image with reduced inaccuracies caused by errors in an encoder that encodes the measurement position of a scanner.SOLUTION: A measurement apparatus includes a measuring unit that acquires measurement information of an object; a scanning unit that has a drive source and reciprocates a part of the measuring unit in a first direction; a detecting unit that acquires position information, which is information related to the position of the part of the measuring unit; a storage unit that stores calibration information for calibrating the position information; a control unit that, in response to the detecting unit detecting that the part of the measuring unit is at a predetermined position, associates and acquires the measurement information from the measuring unit and the position information from the detecting unit; and a calculation unit that generates corrected measurement information, in which the measurement information is corrected based on the position information and the measurement information associated by the control unit and the calibration information read out from the storage unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a measuring device, a measuring method, and a correction method.

Background Art

[0002] A protein array plate or a peptide array plate in which a large number of biological substances having peptide bonds such as proteins and peptides are immobilized on a substrate is known. Using this, it is possible to perform interactions with a large number of biological substances immobilized on the substrate at once. Such an array plate is effective for comprehensively analyzing the interactions between a liquid specimen derived from a living body, such as blood, cell extract, saliva, interstitial fluid, etc., and a large number of proteins or peptides. By such analysis, the characteristics of the specimen can be measured.

[0003] Hereinafter, the fixed site of a sample such as a protein or a peptide on the substrate may be referred to as a spot. As a method for observing a spot that has received an interaction with a specimen, for example, a method of identifying which spot has received an interaction by labeling the spot with a fluorescent probe is known. As a device for observing an array plate labeled with a fluorescent probe, a microarray scanner is known (Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, it has an irradiation optical system, a fluorescence detection optical system, and a two-dimensional scanning system. The irradiation optical system has a function of condensing and irradiating a laser beam onto the array plate. The fluorescence detection optical system has a function of detecting the amount of fluorescence from a spot labeled with a fluorescent probe. The two-dimensional scanning system has a function of acquiring a fluorescence image of the spots on the array plate by two-dimensionally scanning the array plate or the optical system. One of the two-dimensional scans uses a so-called piston crank mechanism that converts the rotational motion of an electromagnetic motor into a translational motion, and scans the irradiation optical system by this mechanism. Also, a technique related to an apparatus and a method for creating a correction table for correcting an error of an encoder that detects the rotational angle position of an electromagnetic motor is disclosed in Patent Document 2.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Document

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In a measuring device, the position information output by an encoder, which is a detection unit for detecting the position information of the measurement unit, may include errors. Therefore, when generating measurement information based on the position information of the encoder, inaccurate measurement information is obtained. Specifically, a shift occurs in the measurement direction. When the output measurement information is an image, stretching or shrinking occurs in the measurement direction. Especially when a magnetic encoder is used as the detection unit, noise may occur when passing through the reference mark on the scale, or the position accuracy may deteriorate due to fluctuations in the magnetic field caused by a drive source arranged nearby. An object of the present invention is to provide a measuring device, a measuring method, and a correction method for eliminating such a shift. In Patent Document 1, it is described that the position of the scanned irradiation optical system is optically measured or calculated from the angle of a shaft connected to an electromagnetic motor, but there is no recognition of the problem regarding the error of the position measuring means, and no reduction method is disclosed either.

[0006] In Patent Document 2, a correction table is generated using a high - precision error detection device. Therefore, there is a problem that a separate device for generating the correction table is required. Also, since it is necessary to measure in advance, there is a problem that it cannot cope when the characteristics of the electromagnetic motor change over time or the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a measuring apparatus, a measuring method, and a correction method capable of obtaining a scanned image with reduced inaccuracy caused by an error of an encoder that encodes a measurement position of a scanner.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a measuring unit that acquires measurement information of an object, a scanning unit that has a drive source and reciprocally scans a part of the measuring unit in a first direction, a detection unit that acquires position information which is information regarding the position of a part of the measuring unit, a storage unit that stores calibration information for calibrating the position information, a control unit that, in response to the detection unit detecting that a part of the measuring unit is at a predetermined position, acquires the measurement information from the measuring unit and the position information from the detection unit in association with each other, an arithmetic unit that generates corrected measurement information in which the measurement information is corrected based on the position information and the measurement information associated with each other by the control unit and the calibration information read from the storage unit, and is a measuring apparatus having the above components. A measuring method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a scanning step of reciprocally scanning a part of a measuring unit in a first direction with a drive source, a detection step of acquiring position information which is information regarding the position of a part of the measuring unit, a storage step of storing calibration information for calibrating the position information, an information acquisition step of acquiring, in association with each other, the measurement information from the measuring unit and the position information in the detection step in response to detecting that a part of the measuring unit is at a predetermined position in the detection step, an arithmetic step of generating corrected measurement information in which the measurement information is corrected based on the associated position information, the measurement information, and the calibration information, and is a measuring method having the above steps. Further, a correction method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a storage step of storing calibration information for calibrating position information which is information regarding the position of a part of a measuring unit, An arithmetic process of generating corrected measurement information obtained by correcting the measurement information based on the position information, the measurement information, and the calibration information. This is a correction method having the arithmetic process.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the measuring device of the present invention, it is possible to provide a measuring device, a measuring method, and a correction method capable of obtaining a scanned image with reduced inaccuracy caused by an error of an encoder that encodes the measurement position of a scanner.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] A measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a measuring unit that acquires measurement information of an object, a scanning unit that has a drive source and reciprocally scans a part of the measuring unit in a first direction, a detection unit that acquires position information which is information regarding the position of a part of the measuring unit, a storage unit that stores calibration information for calibrating the position information, a control unit that, in response to the detection unit detecting that a part of the measuring unit is at a predetermined position, acquires the measurement information from the measuring unit and the position information from the detection unit in association with each other, and an arithmetic unit that generates corrected measurement information in which the measurement information is corrected based on the position information and the measurement information associated by the control unit and the calibration information read from the storage unit.

[0011] An example of the measuring device of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 14. In FIG. 14, 1001 represents the measuring device, 1002 represents the object, 1003 represents the measuring unit, 1003p represents a part of the measuring unit, 1004 represents the scanning unit, 1005 represents the detection unit, 1006 represents the storage unit, and 1007 represents the arithmetic unit. The drive source is not shown. The object 1002 is not included in the measuring device 1001. The arithmetic unit 1007 and the storage unit 1006 may be included in the control unit 1008. The hardware configuration of the control unit 1008 will be described later.

[0012] The detection unit 1005 is an encoder. Specifically, examples of the encoder include a magnetic encoder and an optical encoder, and also include a circular encoder and a linear encoder. The encoder samples periodically. The encoder has a reference mark as a reference point, but noise called crosstalk may occur near the reference mark. Also, when a drive source nearby affects the magnetic field like an electromagnetic motor, the encoder may be affected by the magnetic field and generate an error. According to the measuring device of this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the influence of encoder errors including the above-mentioned crosstalk and the influence of the magnetic field. Therefore, according to the measuring device 1001 of the present embodiment, even if the accuracy of the encoder is not high, highly accurate corrected measurement information can be obtained.

[0013] As the drive source, an actuator including an electromagnetic actuator and an ultrasonic vibration type actuator is adopted. The electromagnetic actuator can adopt an electromagnetic motor. The scanning unit 1004 can scan the measurement unit 1003 with a piston crank mechanism. The measurement unit 1003 is scanned in one direction (referred to as the first direction), and in the calculation unit 1007, the measurement information in the first direction is corrected to generate corrected measurement information. Further, the measurement unit 1003 can be scanned in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. In this case, in the calculation unit 1007, by acquiring a plurality of pieces of corrected measurement information in the first direction and a plurality of pieces based on the second direction, two-dimensional corrected measurement information can be generated.

[0014] As an example of calibration information indicating the correspondence between the position information and the corrected position information, information indicating the correspondence between the coordinates of a plurality of points at a predetermined pitch based on the position information output by the detection unit and the coordinates of those plurality of corrected points can be cited. In this case, in the calculation unit, based on the measurement information of a plurality of points at a predetermined pitch based on the position information output by the detection unit, the measurement information at the plurality of corrected points is calculated to generate corrected measurement information. For this calculation, methods such as interpolation or extrapolation can be used.

[0015] The calibration information can be obtained by low-pass filtering the position information acquired by the detection unit 1005 at a predetermined sampling frequency with a cut-off frequency that is a predetermined multiple of the frequency of the drive source. Details of the calibration information will be described later. The predetermined multiple is preferably 6.0 or more and 10.0 or less.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 15, the measurement method of the present embodiment includes a scanning step of having a driving source and reciprocally scanning a part of the measurement unit in a first direction, a detection step of acquiring position information which is information regarding the position of a part of the measurement unit, a storage step of storing calibration information for calibrating the position information, and an information acquisition step of associating and acquiring the measurement information from the measurement unit and the position information in the detection step in response to detecting that a part of the measurement unit is at a predetermined position in the detection step, and an arithmetic step of generating corrected measurement information in which the measurement information is corrected based on the associated position information, the measurement information, and the calibration information.

[0017] In the measurement method of the present embodiment, the storage step is executed prior to the measurement step, and the calibration information can be stored in a readable storage unit. Further, the calibration information stored in the storage unit may be updated in response to a higher-level command by an operator.

[0018] That is, at an arbitrary timing, for example, prior to other steps, the calibration information can be stored in the storage unit in advance. In this case, the calibration information stored in the storage unit may be used, and it is not necessary to execute the calibration information acquisition step every time in the execution of a plurality of measurement information acquisition steps.

[0019] Alternatively, the calibration information acquisition step may be executed every time the measurement information acquisition step is executed. Alternatively, the calibration information may be recorded in the storage unit, and when the executor determines it is necessary, the measurement information acquisition step may be executed to update the calibration information in the storage unit. When the executor determines it is necessary, for example, it may be when the frequency of the driving source is changed. That is, it may be updated based on a higher-level command by the executor.

[0020] Further, the correction method of the present embodiment is a correction method including a storage step of storing calibration information for calibrating position information which is information regarding the position of a part of the measurement unit, and an arithmetic step of generating corrected measurement information in which the measurement information is corrected based on the position information, the measurement information, and the calibration information.

[0021] The hardware configuration of the above control unit 1008 will be described with reference to FIG. 16. The control unit 1008 has the functions of a computer. For example, the control unit 1008 may be integrated with a desktop PC (Personal Computer), a laptop PC, a tablet PC, a smartphone, or the like. Further, the control unit 1008 may further have a function of controlling other devices according to a predetermined program.

[0022] In order to realize the functions as a computer that performs arithmetic operations and storage, the control unit 1008 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2006, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 2007, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 2008, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 2009. Further, the control unit 1008 includes a communication I / F (interface) 2010, a display device 2011, and an input device 2012. The CPU 2006, the RAM 2007, the ROM 2008, the HDD 2009, the communication I / F 2010, the display device 2011, and the input device 2012 are interconnected via a bus 2013. Note that the display device 2011 and the input device 2012 may be connected to the bus 2013 via a drive device (not shown) for driving these devices.

[0023] In FIG. 16, each part constituting the control unit 1008 is illustrated as an integrated device, but a part of these functions may be constituted by an external device. For example, the display device 2011 and the input device 2012 may be external devices separate from the part constituting the functions of a computer including the CPU 2006 and the like. The CPU 2006 performs predetermined operations according to programs stored in the RAM 2007, HDD 2009, etc., and also has a function of controlling each part of the control unit 1008. The RAM 2007 is composed of a volatile memory medium and provides a temporary memory area necessary for the operation of the CPU 2006. The ROM 2008 is composed of a non-volatile memory medium and stores necessary information such as programs used for the operation of the control unit 1008. The HDD 2009 is a storage device composed of a non-volatile memory medium and stores information regarding the number and positions of individual independent partition sections, fluorescence intensity, etc.

[0024] The communication I / F 2010 is a communication interface based on standards such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), 4G, etc., and is a module for communicating with other devices. The display device 2011 is a liquid crystal display, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display, etc., and is used for displaying videos, still images, characters, etc. The input device 2012 is buttons, a touch panel, a keyboard, a pointing device, etc., and is used for a user to operate the control unit 1008. The display device 2011 and the input device 2012 may be integrally formed as a touch panel.

[0025] Note that the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 16 is an example, and devices other than these may be added, or some devices may not be provided. Also, some devices may be replaced by other devices having similar functions. Furthermore, some functions may be provided by other devices via a network, and the functions constituting the present embodiment may be realized by being distributed among a plurality of devices. For example, the HDD 2009 may be replaced by an SSD (Solid State Drive) using a semiconductor element such as a flash memory, or may be replaced by cloud storage.

[0026] The present invention will be described more specifically below using an example in which a magnetic encoder is used as a detection unit in a system for irradiating light onto a substrate having spots on a slide glass to obtain measurement information. However, the present application is not limited to the following examples. The present invention can be similarly applied to measurement methods other than light. Further, not only magnetic encoders but also optical encoders or other encoders can be used, and in particular, when an encoder with low accuracy is used, the effects of the present invention can be obtained remarkably.

[0027] First Embodiment The measuring device 1101 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

[0028] <Scanning Unit> In the measuring device 1101 of this embodiment, the scanning unit 1004 includes an electromagnetic motor 101 as a drive source, a disk 103 attached to the electromagnetic motor 101, a crank 105, a scale 113 including a reference mark 115, a linear guide 107, and a moving stage (X-axis) 109. The crank 105 is rotatably attached to the disk 103 and the moving stage 109. A support portion 116 that supports a part of each of an irradiation portion 117i that is an optical system 117 and a light collection portion 117r that is an optical system 117 is fixed on the moving stage 109. The rotational motion of the electromagnetic motor 101 is converted into a linear reciprocating motion by the disk 103 and the crank 105, and the moving stage 109 moves linearly on the linear guide 107. As a result, the focus of the primary light can be moved along the substrate 151. Note that the moving stage 109 guided by the linear guide 107 corresponds to the piston of a piston-crank mechanism.

[0029] <Object> In the measuring device 1101 of this embodiment, the object is an array plate 150, and the array plate 150 includes a substrate 151 and spots 153. The substrate 151 is generally a slide glass. Spots 153 to be measured are installed on the surface of the slide glass. The spots 153 may be arranged on the front surface or the back surface of the slide glass. The spots 153 contain, for example, specific proteins.

[0030] <Measurement unit> In the measuring device 1101 of the present embodiment, the measuring unit 1003 corresponds to a support unit 116 including an irradiation unit 117i and a light collection unit 117r. The irradiation unit 117i is composed of an objective lens 121, a 90-degree mirror 119, a dichroic mirror 137, and a collimating lens 135. The light collection unit 117r is composed of an objective lens 121, a 90-degree mirror 119, a dichroic mirror 137, a band-pass filter 139, a condenser lens 141, and a pinhole 143. A part 1003P of the measuring unit is composed of an objective lens 121, a 90-degree mirror 119, and a scale 113.

[0031] <Irradiation unit> In the measuring device 1101 of the present embodiment, the irradiation unit 117i is composed of an objective lens 121, a 90-degree mirror 119, a dichroic mirror 137, and a collimating lens 135, and is arranged so that the primary light is focused on the surface including the spot 153 on the base material 151.

[0032] <Primary light> The light from the semiconductor laser 131 is converted into parallel light by the collimating lens 135, passes through the dichroic mirror 137, and is irradiated onto the base material 151 through the irradiation unit 117i. This light is the primary light. Here, an example of a semiconductor laser is shown, but it may also be an LED.

[0033] <Secondary light> The light emitted from the focus of the primary light formed on the base material and containing information on the specimen or the base material is the secondary light. The secondary light may be the reflected light of the primary light generated by the base material, or the fluorescence of the specimen or the base material emitted by the irradiation of the primary light.

[0034] <Light collection unit> The light collection unit 117r is an optical system composed of an objective lens 121, a 90-degree mirror 119, a dichroic mirror 137, a band-pass filter 139, a condenser lens 141, and a pinhole 143, and is for guiding the secondary light from the focal point to the light detection unit. In this example, the optical path that passes through the 90-degree mirror 119 and the objective lens 121 shared by the irradiation unit 117r and the rearmost unit 117r and is reflected by the dichroic mirror 137 corresponds to this.

[0035] <Light detection unit> The optical sensor 145 detects the secondary light from the light collection unit. The optical sensor 145 can be a photodiode or a photomultiplier tube. The secondary light reflected by the dichroic mirror 137 passes through the band-pass filter 139 and is condensed onto the pinhole 143 by the condenser lens 141. The light that has passed through the pinhole 143 is detected by the optical sensor 145.

[0036] <Scanning unit> In the measuring device 1101 of the present embodiment, the scanning unit 1004 is composed of an electromagnetic motor 101 as a drive source, a disk 103, a crank 105, and a scale 113 (reference mark 115). The scanning unit 1004 reciprocally scans a part 1003P of the fixed part in the first direction.

[0037] <Detection unit> In the measuring device 1101 of the present embodiment, the detection unit 1006 is an encoder 111 in FIG. 3. A scale 113 including a reference mark 115 is attached to the moving stage 109, and a magnetic encoder 111 is fixedly arranged at a position where the information of the scale can be detected. The position information of the moving stage 109 of the scanning unit 1004 can be obtained by the encoder 111. The detection unit 1006 acquires position information, which is information regarding the position of a part 1003P of the measurement unit. In the measuring device 1101 of the present embodiment, the position information is X described below. n It is.

[0038] <Storage unit> In the measuring device 1101 of the present embodiment, the storage unit 1006 stores calibration information for calibrating position information. The calibration information will be described below.

[0039] <Control unit> In the measuring device 1101 of the present embodiment, the control unit 1008 is composed of a controller 161, an LD driver 163, a first electromagnetic motor driver 165, a storage unit 1006, and an arithmetic unit 1007. In response to the detection unit 111 detecting that a part 1003P of the measurement unit is at a predetermined position, the control unit 1008 acquires the optical information data sequence Pn, which is measurement information from the measurement unit 1000, and the position information Xn from the encoder 111 in association with each other. The controller 161 controls the LD driver 163 and the first electromagnetic motor driver 165, and acquires the optical information from the optical sensor 145 using the position information of the encoder 111 as a reference for data acquisition. The LD driver 163 controls the semiconductor laser 131. The first electromagnetic motor driver 165 controls the electromagnetic motor 101. The control unit 1008 acquires the position information of the moving stage 109 by the encoder 111, and acquires the optical information of the optical sensor 145 at equal distance intervals based on the position information of the encoder 111 while the moving stage 109 moves from one position to another position.

[0040] <Arithmetic unit> The arithmetic unit 1007 and the storage unit 1006 are included in a PC. Calibration information is stored in advance in the storage unit 1006. The arithmetic unit 1007 reads the calibration information from the storage unit 1006, and based on the position information Xn associated by the control unit 1008, the optical information data sequence Pn which is measurement information, and the corrected position information (X_true n ), generates the corrected measurement information p_corr n in which the measurement information is corrected. The correction of the optical information in the control unit 1008 and the arithmetic unit 1007 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0041] <S-01 Acquisition of calibration information> The calculation unit 1007 reads calibration information pre-stored in the storage unit 1006. The method for generating the calibration information will be described later. The calibration information is a list of the actual positions of the mobile unit 109 at the timings of obtaining optical information at equidistant intervals based on the position information of the encoder 111 while the mobile unit 109 moves from one position to another position. (More precisely, it is a value that is substantially problem-free even if it is regarded as the position information of the actual mobile unit 109 excluding error information). For example, when obtaining optical information at intervals of 10 μm from -10 mm to +10 mm, the set position information (X n、 n is a natural number from 1 to N) is (-10.00, -9.99, -9.98, ···, 9.99, 10.00) On the other hand, the corrected position information (X_true n ) is (-10.007, -9.991, -9.974, ···, 9.993, 9.999) and is stored in such a form.

[0042] <S-02 Acquisition of pseudo-equi-pitch optical information> The control unit 1008 acquires the optical information of the optical sensor 145 when it determines that the mobile unit 109 has passed through X n based on the position information of the encoder 111. Here, the optical information is the optical information data sequence p n . Since the optical information data sequence p n is generally equi-pitch, it may be referred to as pseudo-equi-pitch optical information.

[0043] <S-03 Acquisition of equi-pitch optical information> Based on the information calibration information X_true n , the corrected measurement information (p_corr n ) obtained by interpolating the optical information is generated. The corrected measurement information (p_corr n ) is generated by interpolating or extrapolating the data set of (X_true n, p n ) to obtain the data set of (X n, p_corr n ). As an interpolation method, an appropriate one such as nearest neighbor interpolation, linear interpolation between two adjacent points, polynomial interpolation of multiple adjacent points, or spline interpolation may be selected.

[0044] The generation of calibration information will be described. (a) Position information by the detection unit A protein array spot with 18 columns and 45 rows as shown in FIG. 5 is prepared. Each spot contains the protein BCAR1. GST (glutathione S-transferase) is tagged to the protein BCAR1, and the GST tag is labeled with a fluorescent probe that fluoresces with respect to light with a wavelength of 670 nm. The size of the spot is approximately 100 μm, and the pitch is 1 mm both vertically and horizontally. FIG. 6 shows an example in which a two-dimensional image is acquired for such a protein array spot using the measuring device shown in FIG. 4 (details will be described later). Here, the rotational speed of the electromagnetic motor 101 is 1200 rpm (= 20 rps), the distance from the electromagnetic motor shaft to the connection part of the crank 105 is 15 mm, the length of the crank 105 is 100 mm, and the moving stage 109 is scanned 30 mm from -15 mm to +15 mm. The scanning in the direction in which the moving stage 109 moves away from the electromagnetic motor 101 is called the forward path, and the scanning in the direction in which the moving stage 109 approaches the electromagnetic motor 101 is called the return path. What is shown in FIG. 6 is an image obtained by imaging the optical information acquired only in the forward path and no correction is performed with the calibration information. FIG. 7(a) shows the result of measuring how much the centroid position of the spot is deviated from the correct position in the image of FIG. 6. The X direction is the direction in which the moving stage 109 is scanned. Here, the horizontal axis is the column number of the protein array spot, and the vertical axis is the deviation amount in the X direction. There are 45 data points for each column. A reference mark is arranged between the 7th column and the 9th column, and the positive and negative of the error direction are reversed before and after this. Also, errors occur at locations other than the reference mark. Similarly, FIG. 7(b) shows the result of measuring how much the centroid position of the spot is deviated from the correct position in the image obtained by imaging the optical information acquired only in the return path. FIG. 7(b) shows a similar tendency to FIG. 7(a). Figure 7(c) shows the result of averaging and superimposing FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) for each column number. Here, the solid line represents the image displacement amount for the forward path only, and the dotted line represents the image displacement amount for the return path only. Since the two match well, it can be seen that this phenomenon does not depend on the scanning direction (whether it is the forward path or the return path). This means that even when optical information during two-dimensional scanning is acquired in both the forward and return paths and made into a single image, an image with an error in the X direction is obtained in the same way.

[0045] (b) Regarding calibration information In the measuring device shown in FIG. 4, when the electromagnetic motor 101 is driven at a rotational speed of 1200 rpm, the result of acquiring the position information of the encoder 111 at a sampling interval (sampling frequency) of 1 μs (1 MHz) is shown in FIG. 8(a). The horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents position information. In FIG. 8, the forward path is the solid line, and the return path is the dotted line. FIG. 8(b) shows the result of applying low-pass filter processing to FIG. 8(a) with a cut-off frequency of 180 Hz, which is nine times the rotational speed. Furthermore, FIG. 8(c) shows the result of subtracting FIG. 8(b) from FIG. 8(a). This is equivalent to applying high-pass filter processing to FIG. 8(a) with a cut-on frequency of 180 Hz, which is nine times the rotational speed. Here, the inventor discovered that the result of FIG. 7(c) can be expressed by taking the position information in FIG. 8(b) as the correct value and the position information in FIG. 8(c) as the error amount. That is, when the position information in FIG. 8(b) is plotted on the horizontal axis and the position information in FIG. 8(c) is plotted on the vertical axis, FIG. 9 is obtained, and the inventor of the present application found that FIG. 9 matches well with the result of FIG. 7(c).

[0046] (c) Method for acquiring calibration information The method for acquiring calibration information derived from this will be described with reference to FIG. 2. <S-11 Driving of the scanning unit> The scanning unit 1004 is scanned at a predetermined driving frequency. The driving frequency matches the rotational speed of the electromagnetic motor 101. <S-12 Acquisition of the first position information> The position information (first position information) of the encoder 111 is acquired at a certain sampling frequency. The sampling frequency may be set to an appropriate value according to subsequent processes and the pitch of the optical information to be acquired. <S-13 Acquisition of Second Position Information> The second position information is acquired by performing low-pass filtering on the first position information at a cut-off frequency that is a predetermined multiple of the drive frequency. Here, the predetermined multiple is appropriately about 6.0 to 10.0 times (described later). <S-14 Generation of Calibration Information> Calibration information is generated from the second position information at the information acquisition timing of the optical information. In the above example, when acquiring optical information at 10-μm intervals from -10 mm to +10 mm, the set position information (X n、 n is a natural number from 1 to N) (-10.00, -9.99, -9.98, ···, 9.99, 10.00) The time indicated by the encoder 111 is the information acquisition timing of the optical information. Also, the second position information at that timing (-10.007, -9.991, -9.974, ···, 9.993, 9.999) is the corrected position information (X_true n ). <S-15 Storage of Calibration Information> The generated calibration information is stored in the storage unit 1006.

[0047] (d) Supplementary Explanation of Calibration Information S-14 (Generation of Calibration Information) will be further explained with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10(a) plots the relationship between the time during scanning and the position of the moving stage. FIG. 10(b) is an enlarged view of the portion enclosed by the square in FIG. 10(a). Also, the solid line in FIG. 10(b) is the position information f(t) measured by the encoder 111, and the dotted line is the position information f LP (t) obtained by performing low-pass filtering on it. Optical information is acquired from a predetermined position X n to X n+7 , and the time at that time is from t n to tn+7 It is as follows. Corrected position information X_true n is X_true n = f LP (t n ) can be obtained.

[0048] Explain the effect of correction. Fig. 11(a) shows an enlarged view of the spot portion for the upper four lines of the spot image in Fig. 6. The round line and the cross line indicate the regions of interest with a pitch of 1 mm in the vertical and horizontal directions. Since no correction is performed here, it can be seen that there are spots shifted to the left or right with respect to the region of interest. Fig. 11(b) is the image after correction. The spot image is located almost at the center with respect to the region of interest, and the effect of correction can be confirmed.

[0049] Explain the method for determining the cut-off frequency. Fig. 12 shows, on the horizontal axis, the magnification of the cut-off frequency with respect to the driving frequency, and on the vertical axis, the standard deviation of the X-direction error amounts of all 18×45 spots. Also, the solid line is for the optical information acquired only in the forward path, and the dotted line is for the optical information acquired only in the return path. From this, it can be seen that the cut-off frequency can reduce the standard deviation of the error amount when it is 6 to 10 times the driving frequency. Therefore, the cut-off frequency is appropriately 6.0 or more and 10.0 times or less the driving frequency.

[0050] Explain a specific measurement example using Fig. 3. Explanation of parts overlapping with the above description will be omitted.

[0051] <Primary light> The semiconductor laser 131 emits laser light with a wavelength of 670 nm and an output of 5 mW. The laser light is converted into parallel light by the collimating lens 135, passes through the dichroic mirror 137, and is focused on the surface including the spot 153 by the objective lens 121.

[0052] <Secondary light> By irradiating the primary light onto spot 153, fluorescence, which is the secondary light, is generated.

[0053] <Light collection unit> The secondary light is reflected by dichroic mirror 137, passes through band-pass filter 139 with a transmission band of 695 - 730 nm, and is focused onto pinhole 143 by condenser lens 141.

[0054] <Light detection unit> The optical sensor 145 is composed of a photomultiplier tube so as to be able to detect weak secondary light. In the measuring device of this embodiment, the calibration information is measured in advance and stored in the storage unit 1006.

[0055] <S-01 Acquisition of calibration information> The arithmetic unit 1007 reads the calibration information stored in advance from the storage unit 1006. For example, the corrected position information (X_true n ) is (-10.007, -9.991, -9.974, ···, 9.993, 9.999) is.

[0056] <S-02 Acquisition of pseudo-equal pitch optical information> The controller 161 in the control unit 1008 acquires the position information of the moving stage 109 by the encoder 111, and acquires the optical information of the optical sensor 145 at equal distance intervals based on the position information of the encoder 111 while the moving stage 109 moves from a certain position (position A) to a certain position (position B). The position A, position B, and the distance interval for acquiring the optical information are set in advance so as to match the calibration information acquired in advance. The set position information (X n、 n is a natural number from 1 to N) is (-10.00, -9.99, -9.98, ···, 9.99, 10.00) is. Let the optical information data sequence be p n and.

[0057] <S-03 Acquisition of equal pitch optical information> Generate corrected measurement information (p_corr n ) by interpolating optical information based on correction information. That is, generate a data set of (X n, p n ) by interpolating or extrapolating a data set of (X_true n, p_corr n ).

[0058] According to this embodiment, it is possible to obtain equal-pitch optical information with reduced errors in the position information of the magnetic encoder 111 caused by reference marks or other causes.

[0059] Second Embodiment This embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The measuring device 1201 of this embodiment is different from the measuring device 1101 of the first embodiment in that the measuring unit 1003 has a sub-scanning unit 1202 that scans in a second direction intersecting the first direction.

[0060] <Placement Unit> The placement unit 207 is configured to hold the array plate 150. In this example, a part of the placement unit 207 is penetrated so that primary light can be irradiated from the back side.

[0061] <Sub-Scanning Unit> The sub-scanning unit 1202 is also referred to as a second scanning unit. In the measuring device of this embodiment, the sub-scanning unit 1202 includes a linear guide 201, a moving table (Y-axis) 203, an electromagnetic motor 205, and a placement unit 207. By rotating the electromagnetic motor 205, the moving table 203 moves on the linear guide 201. A placement unit 207 on which the plate array 150 is mounted is fixed to the moving table 203. As a result, it becomes possible to scan the base material in a direction intersecting the scanning direction of the first scanning unit. Since high precision is required for scanning in this direction, a pulse electromagnetic motor is suitable as the electromagnetic motor 205.

[0062] <Control Unit> The control unit 1008 consists of a controller 161, an LD driver 163, a first electromagnetic motor driver 165, a second electromagnetic motor driver 211, a storage unit 1006, and an arithmetic unit 1007. The controller 161 controls the LD driver 163, the first electromagnetic motor driver 165, and the second electromagnetic motor driver 211, and acquires the optical information from the optical sensor 145 using the position information of the encoder 111 as a reference for data acquisition. The LD driver 163 controls the semiconductor laser 131. The first electromagnetic motor driver 165 controls the electromagnetic motor 101. The second electromagnetic motor driver 211 controls the electromagnetic motor 205. The control unit acquires the position information of the moving stage 109 by means of the encoder 111, and acquires the optical information of the optical sensor 145 at equal distance intervals with the position information of the encoder 111 as a reference while the moving stage 109 moves from a certain position to a certain position. Furthermore, the control unit scans the base material 151 in a direction orthogonal to the scanning direction of the moving stage 109.

[0063] According to this embodiment, it becomes possible to acquire the optical information from the array plate 150 two-dimensionally, and it is possible to acquire an optical information image with reduced error in the position information of the magnetic encoder 111 due to reference marks and other causes.

[0064] Third Embodiment In the first and second embodiments, the calibration information, which is calibration information, was acquired in advance before measurement. In this embodiment, the measuring device 1301 (not shown) of this embodiment is different from the measuring device 1101 of the first embodiment and the measuring device 1201 of the second embodiment in that the calibration information is updated for each measurement and stored in the storage unit 1006.

[0065] For example, when it is desired to acquire data at a finer pitch or perform scanning at a slower driving frequency according to the measurement object, it is appropriate to update the calibration information according to those conditions. In that case, the following flow is adopted (see FIG. 13).

[0066] <Input of S-31 measurement conditions> The operator inputs the measurement conditions. The measurement conditions are the start position of light information acquisition, the end position, the pitch of light information acquisition, and the drive frequency of the scanning unit 1004.

[0067] <Determination of sampling frequency in S-32> Determine the sampling frequency from the pitch of light information acquisition and the drive frequency of the scanning unit 1004. It is desirable that the sampling time interval is less than or equal to the time required to move a distance equal to the light information acquisition pitch when the moving stage moves at the highest speed. Alternatively, a sufficiently high sampling frequency may be fixed and given.

[0068] <Generation and storage of calibration information in S-33> Generate calibration information according to the flow from S-11 to S-15 and store it in the memory.

[0069] According to this embodiment, even when the measurement conditions change, by acquiring optimal calibration information, it is possible to acquire a light information image with reduced error in position information.

[0070] Fourth Embodiment In this embodiment, the calibration information is updated according to a higher-level command by the executor. Due to the change over time of the linear guide and the electromagnetic motor, the error amount of the position information acquired by the encoder 111 may change. To cope with such a case, the calibration information may be updated at the timing desired by the executor.

[0071] Other Embodiments The calibration information, which is calibration information, may be provided separately for the forward path and the return path and corrected independently for the forward path and the return path. Alternatively, since the characteristics are almost the same for the forward path and the return path, only one of them may be adopted and applied to both the forward path and the return path, or an average value may be adopted.

[0072] Embodiments of the present invention include the following configurations and methods. (Configuration 1) A measurement unit that acquires measurement information of an object, A scanning unit that has a drive source and reciprocally scans a part of the measurement unit in a first direction, A detection unit that acquires position information which is information regarding the position of a part of the measurement unit, A storage unit that stores calibration information for calibrating the position information, A control unit that, in response to the detection unit detecting that a part of the measurement unit is at a predetermined position, acquires the measurement information from the measurement unit and the position information from the detection unit in association with each other, An arithmetic unit that generates corrected measurement information in which the measurement information is corrected based on the position information and the measurement information associated by the control unit and the calibration information read from the storage unit, A measuring device having the above components. (Configuration 2) The detection unit has an encoder that encodes the position information, The scanning unit includes a scale for the encoder to detect the position information, and is the measuring device according to Configuration 1. (Configuration 3) The encoder includes a magnetic encoder, and is the measuring device according to Configuration 1 or 2. (Configuration 4) The drive source includes an electromagnetic actuator, and is the measuring device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 3. (Configuration 5) The scanning unit has a piston-crank mechanism including a crank connected to the drive source and a piston connected to a part of the measurement unit, and scans a part of the measurement unit via the piston-crank mechanism, and is the measuring device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 4. (Configuration 6) The storage unit acquires a plurality of pieces of measurement information acquired by the measurement unit, The arithmetic unit selects at least one piece of measurement information from the plurality of pieces of measurement information from the storage unit based on the position information and the calibration information, and generates the corrected measurement information based on the selected at least one piece of measurement information, and is the measuring device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 5. (Configuration 7) A sub-scanning unit that scans the object in a second direction intersecting the first direction for a part of the measurement unit, and a placement unit on which the measurement object is placed, wherein the sub-scanning unit moves the placement unit in the second direction with respect to the scanning unit. The measuring device according to Configuration 5. (Configuration 8) The arithmetic unit generates two-dimensional measurement information based on the corrected measurement information, the position information, and information regarding the position of a part of the measurement unit in the second direction. The measuring device according to Configuration 6. (Configuration 9) The measurement unit includes an irradiation unit that irradiates light onto the object and a light collection unit that collects light from the object. The measuring device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 8. (Configuration 10) The calibration information is the position information obtained by the control unit via the detection unit, information corresponding to the position information obtained by filtering the position information with a low-pass filter having a cut-off frequency corresponding to a predetermined magnification of the frequency of the reciprocating scan of the scanning unit. The measuring device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 9. (Configuration 11) The predetermined magnification is 6.0 or more and 10.0 or less. The measuring device according to Configuration 10. (Configuration 12) The calibration information includes a dataset including a plurality of the position information obtained by the control unit from the detection unit corresponding to a plurality of predetermined positions, and a dataset including a plurality of corrected position information obtained by the arithmetic unit correcting the plurality of the position information. The measuring device according to any one of Configurations 1 to 11, wherein the datasets are linked and stored in the storage unit. (Method 1) A scanning step of having a drive source and reciprocally scanning a part of the measurement unit in a first direction, a detection step of obtaining position information which is information regarding the position of a part of the measurement unit, a storage step of storing calibration information for calibrating the position information, An information acquisition step of associating and acquiring the measurement information from the measurement unit and the position information in the detection step in response to detecting that a part of the measurement unit is at a predetermined position in the detection step; An arithmetic step of generating corrected measurement information obtained by correcting the measurement information based on the associated position information and measurement information and the calibration information; A measurement method having the above. (Method 2) The measurement method according to Method 1, wherein the storage step is executed prior to the measurement step, and the calibration information is stored in a readable storage unit. (Method 3) The measurement method according to Method 2, wherein the calibration information stored in the storage unit is updated in response to a higher-level command by an executor. (Method 4) The calibration information is The position information obtained by the control unit via the detection unit, The measurement method according to any one of Methods 1 to 3, including information corresponding to the position information obtained by filtering the position information with a low-pass filter having a cut-off frequency corresponding to a predetermined magnification of the reciprocating scanning frequency of the scanning unit. (Method 5) The measurement device according to Method 4, wherein the predetermined magnification is 6.0 or more and 10.0 or less. (Method 6) The measurement method according to any one of Methods 1 to 5, wherein the calibration information is stored in the storage unit with a dataset including a plurality of the position information obtained by the control unit from the detection unit corresponding to a plurality of predetermined positions and a dataset including a plurality of corrected position information obtained by the arithmetic unit correcting the plurality of the position information associated with each other. (Method 7) A storage step of storing calibration information for calibrating position information which is information on the position of a part of the measurement unit; A correction method having an arithmetic step of generating corrected measurement information obtained by correcting the measurement information based on the position information, measurement information, and the calibration information.

Explanation of Signs

[0073] 101 Electromagnetic motor 103 Disk 105 Crank 107 Linear guide 109 Moving table (X-axis) 111 Encoder 113 Scale 115 Reference mark 116 Support part 117i Irradiation part 117r Light collection part 117 Optical system 119 90-degree mirror 121 Objective lens 131 Semiconductor laser 135 Collimating lens 137 Dichroic mirror 139 Band-pass filter 141 Condensing lens 143 Pinhole 145 Optical sensor 150 Plate array 151 Substrate 153 Spot 161 Controller 163 LD driver 165 First electromagnetic motor driver 1001 Measuring device 1011 Measuring device of the first embodiment 1012 Measuring device of the second embodiment 1002 Object 1003 Measuring part 1003P Part of the measuring part 1004 Scanning part 1005 Detection part 1006 Storage part 1007 Calculation part 1008 Control part 2006 CPU 2007 RAM 2008 ROM 2009 HDD 2010 Communication I / F 2011 Display device 2012 Input device 2013 Bus

Claims

1. A measurement unit that acquires measurement information of an object, A scanning unit that has a drive source and reciprocally scans a part of the measurement unit in a first direction, A detection unit that acquires position information which is information regarding the position of a part of the measurement unit, A storage unit that stores calibration information for calibrating the position information, A control unit that, in response to the detection unit detecting that a part of the measurement unit is at a predetermined position, acquires the measurement information from the measurement unit and the position information from the detection unit in association with each other, An arithmetic unit that generates corrected measurement information in which the measurement information is corrected based on the position information and the measurement information associated by the control unit, and the calibration information read from the storage unit, A measuring device having the above.

2. The detection unit has an encoder that encodes the position information, The scanning unit includes a scale for the encoder to detect the position information, and the measuring device according to claim 1.

3. The encoder includes a magnetic encoder, and the measuring device according to claim 1.

4. The drive source includes an electromagnetic actuator, and the measuring device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The scanning unit has a piston-crank mechanism including a crank connected to the drive source and a piston connected to a part of the measurement unit, and scans a part of the measurement unit via the piston-crank mechanism, and the measuring device according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The storage unit acquires a plurality of pieces of measurement information acquired by the measurement unit, The arithmetic unit selects at least one piece of measurement information from the plurality of pieces of measurement information from the storage unit based on the position information and the calibration information, and generates the corrected measurement information based on the selected at least one piece of measurement information, and the measuring device according to claim 1 or 2.

7. A sub-scanning unit that scans the object in a second direction intersecting the first direction for a part of the measurement unit, and a placement unit on which the measurement object is placed, and the sub-scanning unit moves the placement unit in the second direction with respect to the scanning unit, and the measuring device according to claim 5.

8. The arithmetic unit generates two-dimensional measurement information based on the corrected measurement information, the position information, and information regarding the position of a part of the measurement unit in the second direction, and the measuring device according to claim 6.

9. The measurement unit has an irradiation unit that irradiates light onto the object, and a light collection unit that collects light from the object, and the measuring device according to claim 1 or 2.

10. The calibration information includes information corresponding to the position information obtained by the control unit via the detection unit and filtered by a low-pass filter having a cut-off frequency corresponding to a predetermined magnification of the frequency of the reciprocating scan of the scanning unit. The measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it does so.

11. The measuring device according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined magnification is 6.0 or more and 10.0 or less.

12. The calibration information is stored in the storage unit in association with a data set including a plurality of pieces of the position information obtained by the control unit from the detection unit corresponding to a plurality of predetermined positions and a data set including a plurality of pieces of corrected position information obtained by the calculation unit by correcting the plurality of pieces of the position information. The measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is.

13. A scanning step of having a drive source and reciprocatingly scanning a part of the measuring unit in a first direction; A detection step of obtaining position information which is information regarding the position of a part of the measuring unit; A storage step of storing calibration information for calibrating the position information; An information acquisition step of associating and acquiring the measurement information from the measuring unit and the position information in the detection step in response to detecting that a part of the measuring unit is at a predetermined position in the detection step; An arithmetic step of generating corrected measurement information in which the measurement information is corrected based on the associated position information, the measurement information, and the calibration information; A measuring method comprising:

14. The measuring method according to claim 13, wherein the storage step is executed prior to the measuring step, and the calibration information is stored in a readable storage unit.

15. The measuring method according to claim 14, wherein the calibration information stored in the storage unit is updated in response to a higher-level command by an executor.

16. The calibration information includes information corresponding to the position information obtained by the control unit via the detection unit and filtered by a low-pass filter having a cut-off frequency corresponding to a predetermined magnification of the frequency of the reciprocating scan of the scanning unit. The measuring method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that it does so.

17. The measuring device according to claim 16, wherein the predetermined magnification is 6.0 or more and 10.0 or less.

18. ​ ​ The measurement method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the calibration information includes a data set including the plurality of position information items acquired by the detection unit corresponding to a plurality of predetermined positions by the control unit, and a data set including a plurality of corrected position information items obtained by correcting the plurality of position information items by the calculation unit, and the calibration information is associated with the data set and stored in the storage unit.

19. A storage step of storing calibration information for calibrating position information which is information regarding the position of a part of the measurement unit; A correction method including a calculation step of generating corrected measurement information obtained by correcting the measurement information based on the position information, the measurement information, and the calibration information.

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