Scanner having confocal optical system, method for producing focus position data of confocal optical system of scanner having confocal optical system and method for producing digital data of scanner having confocal optical system

摘要

A scanner includes three laser stimulating ray sources each adapted for emitting a laser beam, a sample stage on which a sample carrier for carrying five samples is to be placed, a scanning mechanism for moving the sample stage in a main scanning direction and in a sub-scanning direction, a confocal optical system, a motor for an objective lens incorporated in the confocal optical system, a light detector for photoelectrically detecting light, a non-volatile memory, and a controller, the non-volatile memory being constituted so as to store position data produced by setting five distance measuring devices in the sample, placing the sample carrier on the sample stage, and measuring a distance between the objective lens and a reference position on a surface of one of the distance measuring devices set in the sample carrier and a distance between the objective lens and measurement positions on the surface of the one of the distance measuring devices different from the reference position, and to store focus position data produced by setting a focus position determination device including a luminescent material having a property to release fluorescence emission or photoluminescence emission upon being irradiated with the laser beam in the sample carrier so that the luminescent material is located at the reference position, scanning the focus position determination device with the laser beam to stimulate the luminescent material located at the reference position, photoelectrically detecting fluorescence emission or photoluminescence emission released from the luminescent material by the light detector, changing the position of the objective lens of the confocal optical system with a predetermined pitch, and determining a focus position of the confocal optical system, the controller being constituted so as to correct the focus position data of the confocal optical system stored in the non-volatile memory with the position data stored in the non-volatile memory, and output a drive signal to the motor based on the thus corrected focus position data of the confocal optical system, thereby causing it to move the objective and adjust the position thereof. According to the thus constituted scanner, it is possible to adjust the focus of a confocal optical system with high accuracy without need for special devices and produce digital data for biochemical analysis in a desired manner.