OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE DEVICE AND OPTICAL INSTRUMENT USING THE SAME

摘要

An optical waveguide device formed out of a material the refractive index of which has anisotropy, and an optical instrument using the same device. The device comprises an electrooptic single-crystal substrate on which are formed a first core portion the refractive index of which is higher than that of the substrate with respect to both ordinary and extraordinary rays of light, and a second core portion the refractive index of which is higher than that of the substrate with respect to extraordinary rays of light only. The overlapping region of the first and second core portions constitutes a double mode waveguide for extraordinary rays of light. This optical waveguide device is used in place of a pinhole element in an optical system in a confocal scanning optical microscope so as to guide illuminating light into an object to be detected, and to guide the reflected light from the object into a detector. This microscope is provided with a polarization conversion element for use in setting the polarization direction of illuminating light different from that of reflected light. The optical waveguide device functions as a single-mode waveguide with respect to illuminating light, and as a double mode waveguide with respect to reflected light.