Objective lens

Patent 6822805 Issued on November 23, 2004. Estimated Expiration Date:

November 18, 2022. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

Method for manufacturing ultraviolet microscope dry objectives and microscope objectives manufactured in accordance with this method
Patent #: 5440422
Issued on: 08/08/1995
Inventor: Vollrath

Objective lens system
Patent #: 5469299
Issued on: 11/21/1995
Inventor: Nagano

Microscope objective
Patent #: 5886826
Issued on: 03/23/1999
Inventor: Amemiya

Immersion microscope objective lens system
Patent #: 5982559
Issued on: 11/09/1999
Inventor: Furutake

Microscope objective
Patent #: 6181480
Issued on: 01/30/2001
Inventor: Ito

Microscope objectives lens
Patent #: 6392814
Issued on: 05/21/2002
Inventor: Ono

Objective lens Patent #: 6507442
Issued on: 01/14/2003
Inventor: Kashima, et al.

Inventor

Kurata, Kiyonobu

Assignee

Olympus Corporation

Application

No. 10295821 filed on 11/18/2002

US Classes:

359/656, Microscope objective359/350HAVING SIGNIFICANT INFRARED OR ULTRAVIOLET PROPERTY

Examiners

Primary: Schwartz, Jordan M.

Attorney, Agent or Firm

Pillsbury Winthrop LLP

Foreign Patent References

05-072482 JP 03/01/1993
10-104510 JP 04/01/1998
11-167067 JP 06/01/1999
11-249025 JP 09/01/1999
2001-042224 JP 02/01/2001

International Class

G02B 2102

Abstract

An objective lens includes a first lens group, a second lens group having a lens pair, a third lens group having a lens pair, a fourth lens group having a lens pair, a fifth lens group having a lens pair, and a sixth lens group. The objective lens is configured so as to satisfy the following conditional expressions:

d/L<0.025

0.58<Rp/Rn<1.65

where L(mm) is the overall length of the objective lens; d(mm) is the air gap of each of the lens pair; Rp is the radius of curvature of each of positive refractive power surfaces opposing each other with the air gap therebetween; and Rn is the radius of curvature of a negative refractive power surface. Whereby, chromatic aberration can be corrected and resolution is exponentially improved without using a cemented lens, providing a deep ultra-violet objective lens with a high NA capable of auto focussing instantaneously.