Article
Article
Confocal microscopy
Article By:
Taylor, Robert J. Consultant in Microscopy, Falls Church, Virginia.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.156250
A technique that creates high-resolution images of very small objects but differs from conventional optical microscopy in that it uses a condenser lens to focus the illuminating light from a point source into a very small, diffraction-limited spot within the specimen, and an objective lens to focus the light emitted from that spot onto a small pinhole in an opaque screen (see illustration). Located behind the screen is a detector capable of quantifying how much light passes through the hole at any instant. Because only light from within the illuminated spot is properly focused to pass through the pinhole and reach the detector, any stray light from structures above, below, or to the side of the spot is filtered out. The image quality is therefore greatly enhanced.
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
