The invention relates to an acousto-optical main beam splitter for a scanning microscope, embodied and determined to guide illumination light with a preselected or preselectable illumination light wavelength onto an illumination beam path for illuminating a sample and to guide detection light coming from a sample onto a detection beam path. The acousto-optical main beam splitter is characterized in that, in the acousto-optical main beam splitter, a mechanical wave with a sound frequency assigned to the illumination light wavelength propagates or a plurality of mechanical waves, which have the same sound frequency, which is assigned to the illumination light wavelength, propagate, wherein both a portion of the detection light beam including the illumination light wavelength and a first linear polarization direction and a portion of the detection light including the illumination light wavelength and a second linear polarization direction perpendicular to the first linear polarization direction are deflected from the detection light beam coming from a sample by an interaction with the one mechanical wave or by interaction with the mechanical waves and, as result, removed from the detection light beam and/or wherein the acousto-optical main beam splitter is embodied to deflect both the portion of illumination light, which includes the preselected illumination light wavelength and a first linear polarization direction, and the portion of illumination light, which includes the preselected illumination light wavelength and a second linear polarization direction different from, in particular perpendicular to, the first linear polarization direction, onto an illumination beam path for illuminating a sample as a result of interaction with the one mechanical wave or as a result of interaction with the mechanical waves.
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