AXIAL RESOLUTION OF CONFOCAL RAMAN MICROSCOPES - GAUSSIAN-BEAM THEORYAND PRACTICE

A straightforward and transparent model, based on Gaussian beam optics , for the axial ro resolution of a confocal microscope is presented, A confocal Raman microscope was used to determine the axial confocality in practice. The axial response of a thin planar object was measured for three different objectives, two pinhole sizes and a slit. The resu lts show that, in the case of a confocal configuration, the response c alculated with the model provides a good prediction of the axial resol ution of the confocal microscope.