Definition
A Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) images a point light source used for excitation onto the sample via the objective lens and images the excited focal volume onto a point detector using reflected, transmitted, emitted, or scattered light. In contrast to conventional microscopes, this scheme permits strong rejection of out-of-focus light and optical sectioning of the sample. In order to obtain an image, the focal volume must be scanned relative to the sample. Scanning can be performed in the lateral as well as in the axial directions and three-dimensional images of the sample can be generated in this way.
Operating Principle
Figure 1illustrates the working principle of a fluorescence confocal microscope. A point light source, here the end of an optical fiber carrying the excitation light, is imaged onto the sample by the objective lens via a beam splitter. Emitted light from...
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Wannemacher, R. (2012). Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy. In: Bhushan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9751-4_34
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9751-4_34
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