CONFOCAL OPTICAL MICROSCOPY

Confocal optical microscopy is a technique for increasing the contrast of microscope images, particularly in thick specimens. By restricting the observed volume, the technique keeps overlying or nearby scattere rs from contributing to the detected signal. The price for this is tha t the instrument must observe only one point at a time (in the scannin g laser version) or a group of separated points with very little light (in the disc version). This paper describes how the confocal advantag e comes about and how it is implemented in actual instruments. This re view was received in October 1995 (C) 1996 IOP Publishing Ltd