| 摘要 |
In a differential interference microscope, polarized light having a predetermined direction of oscillation is incident on a birefringent optical member so as to be separated into two linearly polarized light components having directions of oscillation orthogonal to each other, and the two linearly polarized light components thus separated are directed via an objective lens to a sample to be observed, and the two linearly polarized light components reflected from the sample are guided via the objective to the birefringent optical member so as to be synthesized into single light, and two linearly polarized light components of the synthesized light flux are caused to interfere so that an image of the sample is formed by the objective lens from the light flux that have interfered. The birefringent optical member has a wedge surface and a reference plane, and the birefringent optical member is inclined, in a plane including an optical axis and a normal line of the wedge surface, with respect to a plane perpendicular to an optical axis in a wedge angle direction by an angle that falls within the range of 16 to 40 degrees.
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