Abstract: A medical sheath is a medical sheath to be used in combination with a medical device including an insertion portion that can be inserted into a body cavity of a subject via a trocar, the medical sheath including: a sheath body formed in a shape that can be inserted to and removed from a through hole through in the trocar; a channel provided in the sheath body, the channel having a shape that enables insertion and removal of the insertion portion; a first optical transmission section provided in the sheath body, the first optical transmission section being provided for guiding illuminating light; and a second optical transmission section that is provided in the sheath body and is separate from the first optical transmission section, the second optical transmission section being provided for guiding return light generated upon application of the illuminating light from the first optical transmission section.

Abstract: A connection adapter includes: an adapter housing; a split sleeve; and a spacer having a space determiner disposed inside the split sleeve and an angle determiner that passes through the slit of the split sleeve to be secured relative to the adapter housing. The two connector connection pars are each connected to the connectors, respectively, causing the ferrules of the connectors to be fitted into the split sleeve and secured across the spacer, so that the single mode optical fibers of the connectors are optically connected to each other via no point of contact therebetween, to thereby provide a connection adapter capable of creating stable connection efficiency for optical fibers and an endoscope device using the connection adapter.

Abstract: While one beam is being branched into a plurality of beams with different optical path lengths, the beams can be converged on the same position in the optical-axis direction with a simple structure even when relative angles between the beams differ. Provided is a beam splitter apparatus including at least one beam splitter that branches the input pulsed beam into two; at least two light-guide members with different optical path lengths that propagate the pulsed beams branching off via the beam splitter; and a reflection optical system that endows a plurality of pulsed beams emitted from exit ends of the plurality of light-guide members with a relative angle and that converges the plurality of pulsed beams on the same position.

Abstract: An optical scanning apparatus, including: an optical fiber (11); a holding unit (29) for holding an emission end (11a) of the optical fiber (11) in an oscillatable manner; and a driving unit (28a to 28d) for driving the emission end (11a), in which the holding unit (29) has a holding structure that is different between the vibration direction caused by the driving unit (28a to 28d)/a direction orthogonal to the vibration direction, and other directions.

Abstract: An endoscope has an insertion portion inserted through a living body, an illumination fiber arranged at a distal end of the insertion portion and irradiates the living body with illumination light, a detection fiber which detects return light from the living body, an actuator which swings a free end of the illumination fiber, and a ferrule which has a through-hole based on a diameter of the illumination fiber and is arranged between the illumination fiber and the actuator. The actuator has an actuator arranged at a first side face of the ferrule and an actuator arranged at a second side face of the ferrule that is different from a face point-symmetric to the first side face with respect to an axial direction of the illumination fiber.

Abstract: A terahertz wave generator includes a femtosecond pulse light source 1 that outputs a near-infrared light L1, which is a pulse light, a diffraction grating 2 that diffracts the outputted near-infrared light L1, an optical system including a lens 3 and a lens 5, and a LiNbO3 crystal 6 for generating terahertz waves L2 with irradiation of the near-infrared light L1. The optical system including the lens 3 and the lens 5 is arranged such that at least a pan of a plane S0? optically conjugated to a diffractive plane S0 of the diffraction grating 2 is formed within the LiNbO3 crystal 6, and a direction normal to the conjugated plane and a direction normal to a plane formed by the pulse front of the non-linear L1 are matched with each other within the LiNbO3 crystal 6. This makes it possible for the near-infrared light L1 to cause the nonlinear optical effect to efficiently occur in the wide range, whereby high-efficient and high-power terahertz waves can be obtained.

Abstract: While one beam is being branched into a plurality of beams with different optical path lengths, the beams can be converged on the same position in the optical-axis direction with a simple structure even when relative angles between the beams differ. Provided is a beam splitter apparatus including a beam splitter that branches an input pulsed beam into two optical paths with different optical path lengths; relay optical systems that are disposed in the respective branching optical paths and that relay pupils in the optical paths; a beam splitter that multiplexes the relayed pulsed beams in the two optical paths; and a reflection optical system that endows pulsed beams branching off via the beam splitter with a relative angle.

Abstract: A measuring instrument has a light source for irradiating light including rays of light having the wavelength of excitation light, an objective lens for focusing light irradiated from the light source to a predetermined focusing position, a first mirror for directly reflecting light from the objective lens, a second mirror for reflecting light reflected by the first mirror, the second mirror having an aperture P, and a measuring device for measuring light generated from a sample and having a wavelength different from the wavelength of excitation light, and the sample being arranged between the first mirror and the second mirror, the focusing position of the objective lens being made to agree with the position of the aperture P, and the measuring device being adapted to measure light of a wavelength different from the wavelength of excitation light generated from the sample and passing through the aperture P.

Abstract: A mirror unit consists of a half mirror and a mirror unit. The half mirror generates a transmitted light and a reflected light. A pair of the mirror units is arranged on one side and the other side of the half mirror so that the transmitted light and the reflected light split by the half mirror are deflected and are combined again at a common place on the half mirror. The mirror unit also has plural mirrors and is arranged to make the optical length variable by shifting the mirror unit toward one direction with a moving mechanism.

Abstract: Optical spectrum of a light irradiated on the object, a spontaneous light emitted from within the object or a surface thereof, a scattered light, a transmitted light, a reflected light or a refracted light from within the object or a surface thereof generated by irradiating light on the object is resolved by amplifying said lights in a bandwidth narrower than the bandwidth of the optical spectrum of said lights. Thus, a method for detecting optical spectrum is provided in which signal intensity is amplified while deterioration of spectral data is suppressed.

Abstract: A mirror unit consists of a half mirror and a mirror unit. The half mirror generates a transmitted light and a reflected light. A pair of the mirror units is arranged on one side and the other side of the half mirror so that the transmitted light and the reflected light split by the half mirror are deflected and are combined again at a common place on the half mirror. The mirror unit also has plural mirrors and is arranged to make the optical length variable by shifting the mirror unit toward one direction with a moving mechanism.

Abstract: A light pulse multiprocessing unit has a half mirror and N delay elements, each having a refractive index n. The N delay elements are arranged on one side of the half mirror from one end of the half mirror toward the other end and have thicknesses ?, 2?, . . . , 2N?1? different from each other, where ? is the smallest thickness. The half mirror is placed in parallel in the proximity of an intermediate position between two mirrors and the N delay elements are arranged between one of the mirrors and the half mirror. Each of the N delay elements is a plane-parallel plate and is placed at an angle such that the direction of the normal line of the surface of the plane-parallel plate is different from a direction followed from one end of the half mirror toward the other end.

Abstract: An optical unit includes a light source unit emitting parallel light; a light-receiving element array; and a prism rendering emitted light from the light source unit incident on a specimen placement section and introducing totally reflected light from the specimen placement section into the light-receiving element array. The prism has an entrance surface rendering the parallel light emitted from the light source unit incident on the prism, a curved reflecting surface which reflects light passing through the entrance surface and incident on the prism toward a focal position thereof, the specimen placement section of a planar shape provided at a position including the focal position of the curved reflecting surface, and an exit surface making light totally reflected at the focal position of the curved reflecting surface in the specimen placement section emerge into the outside of the prism.

Abstract: A measuring instrument has a light source for irradiating light including rays of light having the wavelength of excitation light, an objective lens for focusing light irradiated from the light source to a predetermined focusing position, a first mirror for directly reflecting light from the objective lens, a second mirror for reflecting light reflected by the first mirror, the second mirror having an aperture P, and a measuring device for measuring light generated from a sample and having a wavelength different from the wavelength of excitation light, and the sample being arranged between the first mirror and the second mirror, the focusing position of the objective lens being made to agree with the position of the aperture P, and the measuring device being adapted to measure light of a wavelength different from the wavelength of excitation light generated from the sample and passing through the aperture P.

Abstract: An optical unit includes a light source unit emitting parallel light; a light-receiving element array; and a prism rendering emitted light from the light source unit incident on a specimen placement section and introducing totally reflected light from the specimen placement section into the light-receiving element array. The prism has an entrance surface rendering the parallel light emitted from the light source unit incident on the prism, a curved reflecting surface which reflects light passing through the entrance surface and incident on the prism toward a focal position thereof, the specimen placement section of a planar shape provided at a position including the focal position of the curved reflecting surface, and an exit surface making light totally reflected at the focal position of the curved reflecting surface in the specimen placement section emerge into the outside of the prism.

Abstract: A microscope apparatus includes a microscope, and a time-resolved spectroscopy unit, a first light-guiding unit for guiding light from the speetroscopy unit into the microscope, a second light-guiding unit for guiding the light from the microscope into the spectroscopy unit. The microscope includes an illuminating optical system and an observing optical system. The time-resolved spectroscopy unit includes an ultrashort optical pulse source, a beam splitter for splitting the ultrashort optical pulse into a reference beam and another beam, an optical system for generating a pump beam and a probe beam from the beam other than the reference beam, and an imaging device for time-resolved spectroscopy for capturing an interference pattern formed by the light guided by the second light-guiding unit and the reference beam. A two-dimensional lightwave conversion optical system is interposed between the second light-guiding unit and the imaging device.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring the eccentricity of the aspherical surface has a light source unit; a condenser lens condensing light rays in the proximity of the center of paraxial curvature of a surface to be examined, of an aspherical lens; an angle changing means for entering the rays on the surface to be examined, at angles ?1i (i=1, 2, . . . , N) with an optical axis; a holding tool of the aspherical lens; a light-splitting element; an imaging lens; a light-detecting element detecting the situation of light collected by the imaging lens; and an arithmetical unit. The arithmetical unit is such as to calculate the amount of eccentricity of the surface to be examined, from amounts of shift ?P1i (i=1, 2, . . . , N) between spot positions P1i (i=1, 2, . . . , N) based on the design data of the surface to be examined and spot positions P1mi (i=1, 2, . . . , N) derived from the light-detecting element, with respect to light rays Q1i (i=1, 2, . . . , N) produced by the angle changing means.

Abstract: A light pulse multiprocessing unit has a half mirror and N delay elements, each having a refractive index n. The N delay elements are arranged on one side of the half mirror from one end of the half mirror toward the other end and have thicknesses ?, 2?, . . . , 2N?1 ? different from each other, where ? is the smallest thickness. The half mirror is placed in parallel in the proximity of an intermediate position between two mirrors and the N delay elements are arranged between one of the mirrors and the half mirror. Each of the N delay elements is a plane-parallel plate and is placed at an angle such that the direction of the normal line of the surface of the plane-parallel plate is different from a direction followed from one end of the half mirror toward the other end.

Abstract: An apparatus capable of observing an extremely small region and at the same time observing physical phenomena that occur in extremely short time spans on the order of, for example, several tens of picoseconds to femtoseconds, is provided. The apparatus includes a microscope, and a time-resolved spectroscopy unit, a first light-guiding unit for guiding light from the spectroscopy unit into the microscope, a second light-guiding unit for guiding the light from the microscope into the spectroscopy unit. The microscope includes an illuminating optical system and an observing optical system.

Abstract: A focal length measuring device comprises a light source unit for generating a collimated light, a diffraction grating for deflecting the collimated light by a deflection angle ?, and an image-pickup element for measuring a position of a focused spot light after the deflected light passes the lens to be tested. The diffracting grating is disposed near a front focal plane of the lens to be tested. The image-pickup element is disposed near a rear focal plane of the lens to be tested. A focal length is calculated according to a relationship such as h=f tan ? under condition that h indicates an image height as a distance from the optical axis. By doing this, it is possible to measure the focal length accurately and easily while restricting an influence of a depth of focus and an aberration.