Digital
Microscope Guide
Full-Focus Imaging & Depth Composition
Vol.3
Digital Microscope Guide
Vol.3
Full-Focus Imaging &
Depth Composition
INDEX
Lens magnification & depth-of-field................................ 03
Basics of digital depth composition................................ 04
High-quality depth composition...................................... 05
Edge displacement & zoom correction............................ 06
Real-time depth composition.......................................... 07
3D display function......................................................... 08
High-accuracy 3D images with the accurate D.F.D. method.... 09
Creating 3D images of highly-reflective objects.............. 10
Real-time 3D measurement............................................ 11
Displaying height data..................................................... 12
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Vol.3 Full-Focus Imaging & Depth Composition Digital Microscope Guide
Lens magnification & depth-of-field
The depth-of-field (DoF) represents the vertical range in which a lens will provide an in-focus or
sharp representation of a target.
The higher the resolution of the lens the shallower the depth-of-field becomes simply due to
optical principles.
Conversely, the larger the depth-of-field, the lower the resolution of the lens. Although the
depth-of-field depends on the lens design, the principle above still applies.
In order to overcome the limitations associated with resolution
and depth-of-field, the VHX-7000 Digital Microscope makes use
of an extended focus function called Depth Up. With this
technology, it is possible to gather focus over an entire area Depth-of-field
while still maintaining high-resolution and magnification.
Users finally have the ability to image any target with an
Depth of
unlimited depth-of-field, without the need for an SEM (scanning focus
electron microscope).
Change of depth-of-field according to
magnification
100×
Compound
lens
Near point
Far point
500×
Correlation between magnification and
depth-of-field (Example)
Depth-of-field
10
8
6
4
2
0
50 100 150 200 250
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Vol.3 Full-Focus Imaging & Depth Composition Digital Microscope Guide
Basics of digital depth composition
Even when the depth-of-field is shallow and the overall focus is poor, some areas of a target are
still in-focus.
As the distance between the lens and the object change, the area of focus also changes. By
moving the lens throughout the different focal planes on a target, the VHX captures every pixel
that comes into focus at each level and combines them into a single, fully-focused image.
A Focus at the highest point
Depth composition image
B Focus at the middle point
Extraction &
composition
A B C
C Focus at the lowest point
B
Cross-section image
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Vol.3 Full-Focus Imaging & Depth Composition Digital Microscope Guide
High-quality depth composition
Advanced technology is required to precisely extract the in-focus areas from target
images. Sometimes, conventional technologies cannot obtain clear images
because they are unable to distinguish portions that contain strong light reflections.
This occurs because conventional technologies simply recognise portions with
strong reflective light intensity as an in-focus area.
High-quality depth composition is a technology that uses KEYENCE’s original
algorithm to adjust for discrepancies in an observed image and then accurately
compile the true focal areas into a fully-focused image.
High-quality depth
composition is complete.
Battery safety valve (700×)
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Vol.3 Full-Focus Imaging & Depth Composition Digital Microscope Guide
Edge displacement & zoom correction
The challenges for acquiring high-quality depth composition images are to overcome the
misalignment caused by undesired motion of the lens or target and changes in the field-of-view/
magnification due to non-telecentric lens characteristics. Without making adjustments for these
possible limitations, even a microscope with precise focused-pixel extraction software becomes
useless.
The Auto Adjust function, an advanced edge displacement and zoom correction technology,
enhances the practical utility of our depth composition technology by automatically adjusting for
these issues.
Conventional composition With Auto Adjust function
The advanced edge and zoom correction algorithm allows a user to generate an image with
unlimited depth-of-field, even when observing at low magnification, without having to rely on a
lens’ telecentric characteristics.
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Vol.3 Full-Focus Imaging & Depth Composition Digital Microscope Guide
Real-time depth composition
The advancement of depth composition technology also extends to processing speed in addition
to image quality. No matter how brilliant a technique can be, it is not practical if the operation or
calculation takes too long.
The high-speed processing technique of the VHX-7000 advances the technology to benefit users’
analysis tools.
The real-time depth composition function allows you to display fully-focused images, in real-time,
simply by moving the stage to the area of interest.
High-quality depth composition images can be generated in QXGA resolution with high-speed
calculations and position/magnification correction.
Capture the area of interest—no other operation required
Real-time depth composition & 3D display function
You can quickly observe a depth composition
image by just moving the motorised X-Y stage
to view a desired area.
Quick depth composition
Faster observation and better analysis
using more sample data
Connector pins (50×)
How depth composition works
0.0 s
Capturing images
Focus on the lowest area. 0.1 s
Camera instantly moves up and down.
0.2 s
Depth Display
composition
0.3 s
Image
0.4s composition
algorithm
0.5 s
Among the captured images, the area KEYENCE’s original
0.6 s with the best focus is selected as the base graphics engine
for depth composition. processes image data quickly.
0.7 s
When real-time depth composition begins,
images are captured sequentially
at 50 frames per second. Depth composition is complete
0.8 s
when the highest plane is processed.
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Vol.3 Full-Focus Imaging & Depth Composition Digital Microscope Guide
3D display function
It is very difficult for conventional optical microscopes to observe an object at high magnification
while viewing from an angle.
The 3D Display function allows a user to generate a fully-focused, three-dimensional image of a
target, which can then be freely manipulated.
2D display 3D display
How to change the 3d display
A 3D image can be created and viewed from any angle
❚ Enlargement ❚ Rotation
Drag downward while pressing the scroll Drag while pressing the left button of the
wheel of the mouse. mouse.
❚ Reduction ❚ Move
3D images are displayed and
controlled via mouse. Drag upward while pressing the scroll Drag while pressing the right button of the
wheel of the mouse. mouse.
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Vol.3 Full-Focus Imaging & Depth Composition Digital Microscope Guide
High-accuracy 3d images with the accurate D.F.D. Method
D.F.D. stands for Depth from Defocus. The D.F.D. method
calculates three-dimensional depth information based on the
amount of defocusing of two-dimensional images.
When the lens is shifted vertically towards the target to capture
images at different heights, the focus level of an individual
point changes gradually.
When a position on the target is higher, in a topographical
sense, that part of the image will come into focus sooner
(when moving the lens downward toward the part).
When a position on the target is lower, that part of the image
will come into focus as the lens is moved closer to the target.
Each of the in focus
By calculating the height position of the lens when each point layers are compiled to
provide a 3D image.
in the image comes into focus, a 3D image can be created.
Even if perfect focus is unable to be obtained for some areas,
the Accurate D.F.D. algorithm is still capable of calculating the
height location of those pixels and obtaining detailed texture
information.
Conventional 3D image Accurate D.F.D.
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Vol.3 Full-Focus Imaging & Depth Composition Digital Microscope Guide
Creating 3D images of highly-reflective objects
Metal and mirrored surfaces have hindered 3D image creation in the past due to their high level
of reflectivity.
Areas with glare can’t provide the level of colour contrast information that would help distinguish
between an in-focus or out-of-focus pixel.
Now, by combining glare removal functions and 3D image compilation technologies, it is possible
to construct an accurate 3D profile even on targets with extremely reflective surfaces.
Conventional image
Deciphering contrast in a white glare spot makes
acquiring height information impossible.
Image with glare-removal
and Quick 3D display processing
By removing the glare spots with the glare-removal
technology, we are able to gather colour contrast and
height information for each pixel, resulting in the
compilation of a highly-accurate 3D structure.
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Vol.3 Full-Focus Imaging & Depth Composition Digital Microscope Guide
Real-time 3D measurement
A 3D image contains data in XY and Z axes, providing for measurements such as volume,
distance, plane angle, and profile. These are typically impossible to perform with conventional
optical microscopes.
Advanced measurement tools
Ln - Ln Cir - Pt
■ Height
Ln - Pt Arc R
Pt - Pt Angle
■ Arc radius
Cir - Cir CrsSct
■ Cross sectional area
Cir - Ln Height
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Vol.3 Full-Focus Imaging & Depth Composition Digital Microscope Guide
Displaying height data
A height-colour map allows users to examine the entire structure of an object at a glance.
The 3D image is rendered into a colour scale, which maps higher elevations in red and lower
elevations in blue.
The colour-scaled image can then be displayed on top of the raw image, creating an enhanced
topographical view.
To facilitate measurement, a scale for the X, Y, and Z axes can be automatically calculated and
displayed according to the image size and rotational position of the 3D image.
3D raw image
3D raw image + topographic image.
3D topographic image
Emboss (200×)
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