Adaptive Scanning Optical Microscope (ASOM): A multidisciplinary optical microscope design for large field of view and high resolution imaging

From micro-assembly to biological observation, the optical microscope remains one of the most important tools for observing below the threshold of the naked human eye. However, in its conventional form, it suffers from a trade-off between resolution and field of view. This paper presents a new optical microscope design that combines a high speed steering mirror, a custom designed scanner lens, a MEMS deformable mirror, and additional imaging optics to enlarge the field of view while preserving resolving power and operating at a high image acquisition rate. We describe the theory of operation and our design methodology, present a preliminary simulated design, and compare to existing technologies. A reduced functionality experimental prototype demonstrates both microassembly and biological observation tasks.