Motor-Driven Microscope Objective for Spherical Aberration Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Microscopes without spherical aberration compensation suffer from image sharpness degradation when imaging samples on substrates with non-optimal thicknesses, as they are typically calibrated for specific substrate types and thicknesses, and manual adjustments can be unreliable and damaging to samples.
Innovation Solution
A microscope objective with a built-in correction mechanism that adjusts the air space between fixed and moving lens groups using a motor, allowing for automatic compensation of spherical aberration across various substrate thicknesses, enabling high-quality imaging without user manipulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a microscope is calibrated for specific substrate types and thicknesses, then image quality is optimized for those substrates, but image quality degrades when imaging samples on substrates with non-optimal thicknesses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a motor-driven mechanism that dynamically adjusts the spacing between lens groups within the objective based on detected substrate thickness. This allows the optical system to adapt its configuration in real-time to match different substrate thicknesses, maintaining optimal image quality across varying substrate conditions rather than being fixed for a single calibration thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameter of lens spacing to compensate for spherical aberration introduced by different substrate thicknesses. By adjusting this parameter according to the detected substrate thickness, the system maintains proper optical correction across multiple substrate types and thicknesses.
2Measurement precision
If manual adjustments are made to compensate for spherical aberration, then image quality can be improved for specific substrates, but sample damage risk increases and reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-adjustment by automatically detecting substrate thickness and driving the motor to position lens groups at optimal spacing without user intervention. This eliminates the need for manual collar adjustments, thereby preventing sample damage while maintaining image quality through automated, precise control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical adjustment (user turning collars) with an automated motor-driven mechanical system. This substitution eliminates the unreliability and potential for sample damage associated with manual operations while achieving the same spherical aberration compensation function through controlled, precise motor movement.
3Adaptability or versatility
If manual collar adjustments are used to correct spherical aberration, then some substrate types can be accommodated, but the adjustments can be unreliable and damaging to samples
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects substrate thickness and adjusts lens spacing without requiring user operation. This self-service capability eliminates the unreliability of manual adjustments while maintaining versatility across different substrate types through automated adaptation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from substrate thickness detection to control motor positioning of lens groups. This closed-loop approach ensures reliable and accurate adjustment for each substrate type without manual intervention, replacing the open-loop manual adjustment process with a controlled, feedback-driven system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables high-quality imaging across a range of substrate thicknesses by automatically correcting spherical aberration, improving image sharpness and avoiding damage to samples, and can be integrated into closed-platform microscopes without reliability issues.
Implementation Method 1
Spherical aberration occurs in lenses because light is refracted differently near the edge of a lens relative to how it is refracted at its center.
Implementation Method 2
Spherical aberration occurs in lenses because light is refracted differently near the edge of a lens relative to how it is refracted at its center.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided here are microscope objectives that include a first plurality of lenses positioned within the passageway on a sample end of the microscope objective and a second plurality of lenses positioned within the passageway and spaced apart from the first plurality of lenses and opposite the sample end such that the first plurality of lenses and the second plurality of lenses are aligned along an imaging axis and such that each individual lens is rotationally symmetrical about the imaging axis. Also included is a motor configured to move a carrier along the imaging axis to change a distance between each lens of first plurality of lenses relative to at least one lens of the second plurality of lenses.