Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for generating elevation maps or images of a tissue layer/boundary with respect to a fitted reference surface, comprising the steps of finding and segmenting a desired tissue layer/boundary; fitting a smooth reference surface to the segmented tissue layer/boundary; calculating elevations of the same or other tissue layer/boundary relative to the fitted reference surface; and generating maps of elevation relative to the fitted surface. The elevation can be displayed in various ways including three-dimensional surface renderings, topographical contour maps, contour maps, en-face color maps, and en-face grayscale maps. The elevation can also be combined and simultaneously displayed with another tissue layer/boundary dependent set of image data to provide additional information for diagnostics.

Abstract: A support, which may be a ceiling support, is designed to receive an operation microscope, and particularly may support a medical operation microscope. This support has a support column, movable around a rotation axis, with a first carrier arm and a second carrier arm which, with respect to the first carrier arm, can be moved around a first pivot axis and a second pivot axis. A cable connection is provided for producing a restoring force for the second carrier arm, and couples the second carrier arm to a counterweight for producing a restoring force around the second pivot axis. The counterweight is arranged in the region of the support column, to minimize inertial action accompanying a movement of the support around the rotation axis. A freewheel rotary joint is provided in the cable connection to suppress a feedback to the counterweight of a movement of the second carrier arm around the first pivot axis.

Abstract: In one aspect, the invention features a method for determining an eyeglass prescription for an eye. The method includes obtaining a measurement of a wavefront indicative of the refractive properties of the eye, establishing an optimization space corresponding to a plurality of possible prescriptions for the eye, determining a value for a merit function for each of the possible prescriptions in the optimization space, where the merit function value corresponds to a visual function of the eye when corrected using the corresponding possible prescription, generating a representation of the merit function values, and outputting the representation to an eye care professional.

Abstract: An objective lens for focussing charged particles includes a magnetic lens and an electrostatic lens whose components are displaceable relative to each other. The bore of the outer pole piece of the magnetic lens exhibits a diameter Da which is larger than a diameter Di of the bore of the inner pole piece of the magnetic lens. The following relationship is satisfied: 1.5·Di?Da?3·Di. The lower end of the inner pole piece is disposed in a distance of at least 2 mm offset from the inner end of the outer pole piece in a direction of the optical axis.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a UV absorbing optical element comprising a polymer optical element substrate, and a UV light absorbing amount of a tris-aryltriazine-based UV absorber incorporated in said substrate. The present invention also provides a method for forming a UV absorbing optical element.

Abstract: Illumination optics for a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus is used for illumination of an object field in the object plane with illumination light of a radiation source. The illumination optics has an optical beam influencing element which is divided into at least two beam influencing regions in order to generate various illumination modes for the object field which are independent of a light attenuation. The optical beam influencing element is displaceable between a first beam influencing position where a first one of the beam influencing regions is exposed to a bundle of the illumination light, and at least another beam influencing position where another one of the beam influencing regions is exposed to the bundle of the illumination light. Each of the beam influencing regions has a surface which is exposable to illumination light and has a long and a short side length, with the optical beam influencing element being displaceable perpendicular to the long side length.

Abstract: An illumination system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus has a pupil surface and an essentially flat arrangement of desirably individually drivable beam deviating elements for variable illumination of the pupil surface. Each beam deviating element allows deviation of a projection light beam incident on it to be achieved as a function of a control signal applied to the beam deviating element. A measurement illumination instrument directs a measurement light beam, independent of the projection light beams, onto a beam deviating element. A detector instrument records the measurement light beam after deviation by the beam deviating element. An evaluation unit determines the deviation of the projection light beam from measurement signals provided by the detector instrument.

Abstract: A representation of a particle beam image is generated by acquiring plural data sets using a particle beam apparatus. Each data set represents secondary particle intensities from a region of an object. The secondary particle intensities are acquired for the different data sets with different parameter adjustments of the particle beam apparatus. From the plural acquired data sets image data are generated using a tone-mapping method. The image data are represented at an output medium.

Abstract: A microlithographic projection exposure apparatus includes an illumination system and a projection lens which images a reticle onto a photosensitive layer. The projection exposure apparatus further includes an immersion arrangement for introducing an immersion liquid into an immersion interspace between a last optical element of the projection lens on the image side and the photosensitive layer. A transmission filter is designed and arranged in the projection lens in such a way that rays which enter the immersion interspace from the last optical element at an angle of incidence ? are attenuated more strongly the smaller the angle of incidence ? is. The transmission filter may be arranged e.g. in a pupil plane of the projection lens and may have a transmittance which increases with increasing distance from an optical axis of the projection lens. In this way compensation is provided for angle-dependent absorption in the immersion liquid.

Abstract: Components (30) in the interior of an EUV lithography device for extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray wavelength range are cleaned by igniting a plasma, adjacent to the component (30) to be cleaned, using electrodes (29), wherein the electrodes (29) are adapted to the form of the component (30) to be cleaned. The residual gas atmosphere is measured spectroscopically on the basis of the plasma. An emission spectrum is preferably recorded in order to monitor the degree of cleaning. An optical fiber cable (31) with a coupling-in optical unit (32) is advantageously used for this purpose. Moreover, in order to monitor the contamination in the gas phase within the vacuum chambers during the operation of an EUV lithography device, it is proposed to provide modules configured to initiate a gas discharge and to detect radiation emitted on account of the gas discharge. The contamination in the gas phase can be deduced from the analysis of the measured spectrum.

Abstract: A method for producing an element having at least one arbitrarily freely formed surface (freeform surface) having a high accuracy of form and a low surface roughness. The freeform surface is obtained by at least one first processing step with a shaping material processing method in which at least an approximation to the desired freeform surface (target form) is effected, and at least one second step with a material processing method that smooths the surface, wherein at least during the second processing step of the smoothing material processing, the element (1) to be processed is elastically stressed by force introduction such that the freeform surface to be smoothed is processed by smoothing processes for spherical, plane or aspherical surfaces.

Abstract: A microscope including an objective which images a sample along a microscope beam path, and an autofocus device, which is coupled into the microscope beam path via a beam splitter at a location behind the objective direction, a A light modulator for generating a two-dimensional, intensity-modulated modulation object, is located in the autofocus beam path in a plane conjugated to the focal plane of the objective or intersects the latter and is imaged into the focal plane of the objective. A camera records a two-dimensional image onto which the modulation object's image is imaged. The image plane of the camera intersects a plane that is conjugated to the modulation object or is located in the plane and the camera detecting the contrast of the modulation object's image located in the sample.

Abstract: Described is an examination system (1) for locating contamination (2) on an optical element (4) installed in an optical system (5), which examination system (1) comprises: a spatially resolving detector (6); imaging optics (7) that magnify in particular at a magnification of between 2 times and 100 times, for magnified imaging of a surface sub-region (3a) of the optical element (4) on the spatially resolving detector (6); as well as a movement mechanism (12), in particular a motorized movement mechanism (12), for displacing the imaging optics (7) together with the detector (6) relative to the surface (3) of the optical element (4) such that any desired surface sub-region of the surface (3) can be imaged at magnification.

Abstract: A method for measuring residual protein in a cellular specimen including obtaining a low magnification image of a candidate object of interest, filtering the candidate object of interest pixels with a low pass filter, morphologically processing the candidate object of interest pixels to identify artifact pixels, identifying the candidate object of interest by eliminating artifact pixels, acquiring a higher magnification image of the subsample for the candidate object of interest, transforming pixels of the higher magnification image in a first color space to a second color space to differentiate higher magnification candidate object of interest pixels from background pixels, identifying an object of interest from the candidate object of interest pixels in the second color space, and determining the optical density of the protein in a cell contained in a subsample, wherein the optical density is indicative of the residual component of a cellular protein.

Abstract: An ophthalmic apparatus including a supporting device for a patient and an eye treatment device. The apparatus includes a contact element for spatially fixing an eye of the patient with respect to the treatment device, and a positioning device for shifting the supporting device and a contact element relative to each other in order to position the eye, before it is fixed using the contact element, at a predetermined nominal position relative to the contact elements. The ophthalmic apparatus includes a detection device, which records an image of the eye of the patient present on the supporting device and, on the basis of said recorded image, determines an indication concerning a relative shift of the supporting device with respect to the contact element, which shift is required to move the eye to the nominal position by means of the positioning device.

Abstract: The invention relates to an accommodative lens implant controlled by the ciliary muscle, consisting of at least one or more lenses made of preferably biocompatible material and disposed on a common optical axis, the at least one lens being a component of a flexible, closed implant body that is transparent in the region of the actual lens, is engaged at its outer periphery with the ciliary muscle, and has a main axis that coincides with the visual axis, and in addition at least part of the implant body with the lens or lenses comprises a fluid filling, such that the axial position of the lens or the lens system can be altered by activation of the ciliary muscle, the implant body being inserted in the sulcus of the posterior chamber of the eye or attached to the ciliary muscle.

Abstract: A continuous coating installation is disclosed. The installation includes a vacuum chamber having a supply opening for supplying a substrate to be coated and a discharge opening for discharging the coated substrate. The installation also includes a physical vapour deposition device for coating a surface of the substrate, and a laser crystallization system for simultaneously illuminating at least one sub-partial area of a currently coated partial area of the surface of the substrate with at least one laser beam. The installation further includes a transport device for transporting the substrate in a feedthrough direction from the supply opening to the discharge opening and for continuously or discontinuously moving the substrate during the coating thereof in the feedthrough direction.

Abstract: A method for removing at least one reflective layer (4a, 4b) from an optical element (1) for EUV lithography, wherein the optical element (1) has a substrate (2) and an interlayer (6) between the substrate (2) and the at least one reflective layer (4a, 4b). The method includes etching away the at least one reflective layer (4a, 4b) as far as the interlayer (6) with an etching gas (7), wherein the material of the interlayer (6) does not react with the etching gas (7), and wherein, after the etching away, the interlayer (6) has a surface roughness of less than 0.5 nm rms, preferably of less than 0.2 nm rms, and more preferably of less than 0.1 nm rms. Also, an optical element (1) for reflecting radiation in the EUV wavelength range includes a substrate (2), at least one reflective layer (4a, 4b), and an interlayer (6) arranged between the substrate (2) and the at least one reflective layer (4a, 4b).

Abstract: The disclosure relates a projection objective of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus, as well as a related microlithographic projection exposure apparatus and method. The projection objective can include a lens of a cubically crystalline material whose crystal orientation is oriented at an angle of at most 15° relative to the optical axis of the projection objective. The projection objective can also include a polarization correction element which has at least two subelements of birefringent, optically uniaxial material and having at least one respective aspheric surface. During use of the projection objective, the polarization correction element at least partially compensates for an intrinsic birefringence of the lens.

Abstract: Methods for dispensing eyeglasses are disclosed. The methods involve making a subjective refraction and an objective refraction and sending the information to a calculation computer to combine both refractions to calculate the person's prescription. The person's prescription is subsequently sent to a manufacturing location separate from the calculation computer for manufacture of the lenses.