Photon detectors for confocal microscopy

Abstract

In its most general form, confocal microscopy encompasses all optical techniques whose illumination and detection scheme examines each point in an object in the absence of interfering information from neighboring points. Recently the technique has expanded to encompass not only morphology but also disciplines as far afield as physiology, spectroscopy, fluorescence lifetime analysis, and even DNA sequencing. As a result, the requirements and design constraints on appropriate detection systems are as varied as the fields to which the technique is applied. © 2006, 1995, 1989 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. All rights reserved.