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2009 Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 045902

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IOP PUBLISHING MEASUREMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 (2009) 045902 (9pp) doi:10.1088/0957-0233/20/4/045902

Development of the fast astigmatic

auto-focus microscope system
Wei-Yao Hsu, Chien-Shing Lee, Po-Jui Chen, Nien-Tsu Chen,
Fong-Zhi Chen, Zong-Ru Yu, Ching-Hsiang Kuo and Chi-Hung Hwang
Instrument Technology Research Center, National Applied Research Laboratories, 20 R&D Road VI,
Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan, Republic of China
E-mail: hsuweiyao@itrc.org.tw

Received 22 August 2008, in final form 8 December 2008

Published 19 February 2009
Online at stacks.iop.org/MST/20/045902

Abstract
In this paper, a fast auto-focus microscope system was developed based on the astigmatic
method. A collimated infrared laser beam was employed in the infinite-corrected microscope
optical axis by the beam splitter and reflected by the sample surface. By embedding an
astigmatic lens in the system, the reflected laser beam has different focal lengths in the sagittal
and tangential planes. As the microscope’s relative distance varies, the reflected laser beam
shape also varies and can be detected by an embedded four-quadrant photodiode, i.e., the focus
error signal (FES) can be found. Then, a fast auto-focus system can be realized by converting
the FES to the microscope’s defocus distance. We designed an astigmatic auto-focus system
for a 20× objective lens with a ±50 μm working range, and this system could also be used for
10× and 5× objectives with ±200 μm and ±800 μm working ranges, respectively.

Keywords: microscope, auto focus, astigmatic method.

(Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

1. Introduction To overcome the disadvantage of the sharpness

The requirement of precise and miniature instruments has been
in great demand in recent years. Therefore, micro-inspection
technology becomes more and more important, i.e., there
are massive requirements for microscope inspection devices
and image identification technologies. For mass production
lines, not only the manufacturing and assembling but also
the inspection processes should run quickly. The traditional
manual focusing for microscope inspection is time consuming;
therefore, the development of a microscope with a fast auto-
focus system is imperative.
One of the auto-focus methods for a microscope is based
on the image sharpness identification or the image spatial
frequency function [1–3]. The image sharpness identification
method is reliable and robust and can get a clear image, but the
disadvantage is a time-consuming focusing method because of
the maximum extreme finding process. The image sharpness is
checked in a scanning process. The sharpness increases when
the system approaches the focus point and decreases when the
system is away from the focus point. Then the auto-focus
system will obtain the clearest image after a reverse motion.
identification method, we develop the astigmatic auto-focus
system which is very similar to the auto-focus function of
the compact disk/digital versatile disk (CD/DVD) pickup
head. There are many studies about the astigmatic optical
system of the CD/DVD pickup head [4, 5] and its applications
[6–8]. The modeling of the astigmatic FES has been presented
in works [4, 5]. In [4], an analytical formulation of the FES and
its derivation with respect to the distance from the sample to the
focal plane of the objective was defined. In [5], the analytical
geometric mode of the FES and the light intensity distribution
effect were introduced in detail. Besides the CD/DVD
pickup head application, there are numerous applications of the
astigmatic method, such as confocal compact scanning optical
microscope [6], optical accelerometers [7, 8] and autofocusing
probe for profile measurement [9].
We developed the astigmatic auto-focus system for a
microscope. An elegant analytical formulation of focus error
signal (FES) was established based on geometric optics and
could be used for designing different magnification objectives
of the microscope. Figure 1 shows the layout of the optical
microscope with the astigmatic auto-focus system. An

0957-0233/09/045902+09$30.00 1 © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK

Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 (2009) 045902
Infinite-corrected
Microscope System
Astigmatic Image
Auto Focus System Senor
Four-Quadrant
Photodiode
Tube
Astigmatic Lens
Lens
Laser Beam
Splitter B
Beam
Splitter A
Long Working
Distance Objective
Sample
Figure 1. The optical layout of the astigmatic auto-focus
microscope system.
astigmatic auto-focus system constructed by a laser source, a
four-quadrant photodiode, an astigmatic lens and two beam
splitters is inserted into an infinite-corrected microscope
system. The astigmatic lens has different focal lengths in the
sagittal and tangential planes. To prevent the laser beam from
influencing the image sensor of the microscope, an infrared
830 nm laser source is chosen. The laser beam passes through
the beam splitter A (50% reflection and 50% transmission of
infrared light), and then is reflected by the beam splitter B (high
transmission for visible light and high reflection for infrared
light). Then the laser beam passes through the objective and
strikes the sample surface. After traveling the above route, the
laser beam is reflected by the sample surface and returns to the
beam splitter A, and then goes into the astigmatic lens, finally
striking the four-quadrant photodiode. Because of the focal
length difference between the sagittal and tangential planes,
the shape of the laser’s spot on the four-quadrant photodiode
is changed according to the distance between the microscope
objective and sample surface. The shape variation detected
by the four-quadrant photodiode is calculated as FES, and the
FES curve is the relation of the FES to the distance between
the microscope objective and sample surface. For a well-
designed astigmatic auto-focus system, the laser spot shape is
circular when the microscope is at the focus and the FES equals
zero, and the FES approaches −1 or +1 when the microscope
approaches the working range margin. The auto-focus means
the microscope moves automatically along its optical axis
to the position where the FES equals zero. Using a four-
quadrant photodiode to detect the reflected laser spot shape,
the astigmatic auto-focus microscope system can function very
fast.
This paper is organized as follows: section 2 analyzes
the astigmatic auto-focus system based on geometric optics;
an astigmatic optic system design and simulation for a given
microscope is introduced in section 3; the working principle
of the auto-focus system and the experimental results are
illustrated in section 4; and conclusion is given in section 5.
2
W-Y Hsu et al
Objective Astigmatic Lens four-quadrant
fo ft , f s photodiode
Da
fs
ft ,> fs
d
δ fo l ft
Figure 2. The astigmatic optic system.
2. Analysis of the astigmatic auto-focus system
based on geometric optics
The scheme of an astigmatic auto-focus system could simply
be depicted as an astigmatic optic system shown in figure 2.
A point light source is a distance δ away from the objective’s
focal point. For an infinite-corrected microscope system, the
point light source could be considered as the image of the
collimated laser source formed by the objective and reflecting
sample. The sample defocus distance z is half of the point
light source distance δ. The other parameters shown in figure
2 are defined as follows:
• fo : the objective’s focal length,
• l: the distance between the objective and the astigmatic
lens,
• ft : the tangential focal length of the astigmatic lens,
• fs : the sagittal focal length of the astigmatic lens (in this
study, we let ft > fs ),
• Da : the diameter of the collimated laser beam and
• d: the distance between the astigmatic lens and the four-
quadrant photodiode.
To form a circular spot on the four-quadrant photodiode
with a point light source located at the objective’s focal point
(δ = 0), the position of the photodiode requires the condition
2ft fs
d= . (1)
ft + fs
The spot shape is changed to an ellipse when the point light
source departs from the objective’s focal point as shown in
figure 3. In this study, δ is positive when the light source is far
away from the objective lens and is negative when it is close
to the objective lens. FES is defined below as
FES = ((QA + QC ) − (QB + QD ))/(QA + QB + QC + QD ),
(2)
in which QA , QB , QC and QD are the energies detected by
the four-quadrant photodiode on A, B, C and D quadrants,
respectively. To simplify the analyzing process, we assume
that the energy is uniformly distributed on the four-quadrant
photodiode, i.e., the detected energy is proportional to the spot
area on each quadrant and the FES is the change ratio of the
spot shape. As shown in figure 3, w and h are the image heights
of the point light source on the four-quadrant photodiode in
the sagittal and tangential planes. If a point light source moves
away from the objective lens, the ellipse’s horizontal length w
Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 (2009) 045902 W-Y Hsu et al

FES = ((QA+QC)-(QB+QD))/(QA+QB+QC+QD)

Too Far In Focus Too Close

FES>0 FES=0 FES<0
B
h
A C

w D
Figure 3. Spot shape variation of the astigmatic optic system.

The specified point (x1 , y1 ) shown in figure 4, on the spot

(x2, y2)=(hcosθ,hsinθ)
B boundary is also the intersection of the quadrant boundary and
A2 the spot. This means
(x1, y1)=(wcosθ, h sinθ)
h
x1=y1 θ=tan-1(w/h) wh
x1 = w cos θ = y1 = h sin θ = √ , (8)
A3 w 2 + h2
θ and
A A1 Ac h w w
C
θ = tan−1 . (9)
h
Then the specified point (x2 , y2 ) in the inscribed region shown
in figure 4 is defined as
D A4 h2
x2 = √
Figure 4. Spot shape variation of the astigmatic optic system and its w 2 + h2 (10)
FES calculation. wh
y2 = √ .
w 2 + h2
is greater than its vertical length h and the FES is greater than Areas A2 and A4 have a proportional relationship as
zero. In contrast, w is less than h and the FES is less than zero. w
Based on the geometric optics, we can find the image location A2 = A4 . (11)
of the point light source on the sagittal and tangential planes h
formed by the astigmatic optic system with respect to δ as A4 is the area of fan shape minus the area of the inscribed
triangle of the circle and is expressed as
fs (l − fo )δ − fo2 fs π 
ss = (3) A4 = h2 − θ − A3 , (12)
(l − fo − fs )δ − fo2 2
ft (l − fo )δ − fo2 ft where
st = , (4)
(l − fo − ft )δ − fo2 wh3
A3 = 2 . (13)
w + h2
in which ss and st are the image distances relative to the
astigmatic lens in the sagittal and tangential planes. Then Substituting equations (11) and (12) into equation (7), we find
the image height on the four-quadrant photodiode plane can 4
FES = θ − 1. (14)
be found through the trigonometric theory as follows: π
  Then substituting equation (9) into equation (14), we find the
 ss − d  Da
w =   (5) elegant formulation of the FES:
ss  2 w
  4
 st − d  Da FES = tan−1 − 1. (15)
h=   . (6) π h
st  2
Figure 4 shows the spot area relationship on the four-
3. The astigmatic optic system design and simulation
quadrant photodiode plane; the FES is calculated as
1 The above section is the FES straightforward derivation giving
FES = (2A1 − 2A2 ) , (7)
π wh the parameters of the astigmatic optic system. In this section,
where π wh is the total ellipse spot area which equals 2A1 + we illustrate how to design the astigmatic optic system in a
2A2 + Ac . Ac is the inscribed square area and equals 4w 2 h2 / given infinite-corrected microscope system. Theoretically, the
(w 2 +h2 ). A1 and A2 are the left-hand hatched and top hatched FES varies from −1 to +1 according to the axial location of the
areas, respectively. point light source. The condition of FES = 1 and FES = −1

3
Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 (2009) 045902 W-Y Hsu et al

Table 1. The parameters of the astigmatic auto-focus microscope system for the 20× objective.
Parameters of the astigmatic optic system Geometric optics ZEMAX setting

Objective’s focal length fo (mm) 10 10

Distance between the objective lens and the astigmatic lens l (mm) 165 165
Tangential focal length of the astigmatic lens ft (mm) 53.791 53.791
Sagittal focal length of the astigmatic lens fs (mm) 46.566 46.566
Distance between the astigmatic lens and the four-quadrant photodiode d (mm) 50 52.70

means h = 0 and w = 0 and the spot shape on the four- is set as a paraxial perfect lens, and suitable parameters, such
quadrant photodiode becomes a horizontal line and a vertical as thickness and diameter, of other optical components are
line, respectively. From equations (3) to (6), we can find the entered into ZEMAX. The astigmatic lens is designed as a
corresponding axial image location of the point light source in standard bi-conic surface which is a non-rotational symmetric
the tangential and sagittal planes as surface. This astigmatic lens is fabricated using an ultra-
precision diamond turning machine with the slow tool servo
fo2 (ft − fs ) fo2
δt = = , function. To simplify the simulation process, we keep all the
(l − fo )(ft − fs ) + 2ft fs (l − fo ) + e parameters the same as the geometric optical system but set
at st = d (16) the distance between the astigmatic lens and four-quadrant
fo2 (ft − fs ) fo2 photodiode d (i.e. thickness of the bi-conic surface) as a
δs = = , variable. We then use the optimization function of the optical
(l − fo )(ft − fs ) − 2ft fs (l − fo ) − e
design software, ZEMAX, to estimate parameter d with FES =
at ss = d, (17)
0 when the microscope system is at the focus. After the
where optimization, the distance between the astigmatic lens and
the four-quadrant photodiode is estimated to be 52.70 mm.
2ft fs
e= . (18) Table 1 lists the parameters of the astigmatic optic system
ft − fs for the simulations of the geometric optical system and for
Giving the infinite-corrected microscope system, i.e. the focal ZEMAX settings.
length of the objective, fo , and the auto-focus working range, Figure 5(a) shows the simulation results of the FES
and setting the distance between the objective lens and the curve of the 20× objective using the optical design software,
astigmatic lens, l, as small as possible, we can determine ZEMAX, and the numerical calculation of geometric optics.
fo2 The FES sensitivity can be found by differentiating the FES
e= − (l − fo ) . (19) with respect to δ. Figure 5(b) shows the FES sensitivity
δt
with respect to the microscope’s relative distance of the 20×
The distance between the astigmatic lens and the four-quadrant objective lens. If parameters l, d, ft and fs are fixed, the
photodiode, d, can be determined by the space consideration larger objective focal length fo is the larger working range and
of the astigmatic optic system. Combining equations (1) and the lower is the FES sensitivity. Figures 6(a) and 7(a) show
(17), we finally determine the astigmatic lens parameters as the FES curve of the 10× and 5× objectives, respectively.
ed Although the FES curves of these three figures are very similar,
ft = (20) their working ranges are quite different ranging from 160 μm,
e−d
600 μm and over 2200 μm. The sensitivities of the FES curves
ed
fs = . (21) are also in different number orders, varying from 1.7 × 10−2 ,
e+d 4.5 × 10−2 and 1.1 × 10−3 at their individual focal points.
A commercial 20× objective (Mitutoyo, M Plan Apo NIR
[9]) which has a focal length of fo = 10 mm is chosen. 4. The working principle and experimental results
Because of the space restriction on the astigmatic optic
system, the distances between the objective lens and astigmatic The configuration of the astigmatic auto-focus microscope
lens, l, and between the astigmatic lens and four-quadrant system shown in figure 8 comprises a laser source, beam
photodiode, d, are set as 165 mm and 50 mm respectively. The splitters, an astigmatic lens, a four-quadrant photodiode
working range of the microscope auto-focus system is set as (QP1-6 T05, Silicon Sensor GmbH), a stepping motor, a
±50 μm, and then δ t is set as 120 μm with the diffraction data acquisition device (USB 6008, National Instruments),
effect consideration. The focal lengths in the tangential and a microprocessor (MCS-51), a computer (PC), an image
sagittal planes of the astigmatic lens can be determined by sensor and an infinite-corrected microscope combined with an
equations (19) and (20) as 53.979 mm and 46.566 mm, objective and a tube lens. Using a PC connected to the USB
respectively. All the above parameters are perfect geometric 6008 device which in turn is connected to the microprocessor
optics parameters, i.e. the thickness of the optical components and the four-quadrant photodiode, we can control the stepping
is ignored. To implement the astigmatic auto-focus motor and record the FES data. USB 6008 has both an analog-
microscope, we use the optical design software, ZEMAX, to-digital (A/D) converter function and a digital input/output
to simulate the astigmatic system. The commercial objective (DIO) function [10]; the A/D converter can be used for FES

4
Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 (2009) 045902 W-Y Hsu et al

Simulation of FES curve of 20X Objective Simulation of FES sensitivity of 20X Objective
1 0.02
ZEMAX Simulation
Simulaiton of Geometric Optics
0.8
0.015
0.6

FES Sensitivity (μm-1)

0.4 0.01

0.2
0.005
FES

-0.2
0

-0.4 -0.005
-0.6
-0.01
-0.8

-1 -0.015
-100 -50 0 50 100 -100 -50 0 50 100
Microscope Relative Distance ( μm) Microscope Relative Distance ( μm)
(a) (b)

Figure 5. Simulation of FES curve of 20× objective.

Simulation of FES curve of 10X Objective x 10

-3
Simulation of FES Sensitivity of 10X Objective
1 5
ZEMAX Simulation
Simulation of Geometric Optics
0.8 4

0.6 3
FES Sensitivity (μm-1)

0.4
2
0.2
1
FES

0
0
-0.2
-1
-0.4
-2
-0.6

-0.8 -3

-1 -4
-400 -300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 -400 -300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400

Microscope Relative Distance ( μ m) Microscope Relative Distance ( μm )

(a) (b)

Figure 6. Simulation of FES curve of 10× objective.

Simulation of FES curve of 5X Objective -4 Slimulation of FES Sensitivity of 5X Objective

1 x 10
12
ZEMAX Simulation
0.8 Simulation of Geometric Optics
10

0.6 8
FES Sensitivity (μm-1)

0.4 6
0.2 4
FES

0 2

-0.2 0

-0.4 -2

-0.6 -4

-0.8 -6
-1 -8
-1500 -1000 -500 0 500 1000 1500 -1500 -1000 -500 0 500 1000 1500
Microscope Relative Distance ( μ m) Microscope Relative Distance (μ m)
(a) (b)

Figure 7. Simulation of FES curve of 5× objective.

data acquisition and the DIO can be used for stepping motor generated by MCS-51, and the stroke is determined by the
control. The stepping motor is controlled by a serial pulse pulse number. The pulse number information is transferred

5
Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 (2009) 045902
(a)
(b)
Figure 8. Configuration and photograph of the astigmatic auto-focus microscope system.
to the microprocessor through the DIO function of the USB
6008 device as shown in figure 9. The live image of the sample
surface is displayed on the PC monitor by connecting an image
sensor via an IEEE 1394 serial port.
For the astigmatic auto-focus microscope system to
function, we need to find the actual FES curve from the
experiment. The following steps describe how to find the
FES curve. First, set the microscope to the focus position
where the live image on the PC monitor is the sharpest,
and set this position as reference zero. Second, move the
microscope and record the FES data simultaneously to check
the working range. Moving the microscope away from the
sample increases the FES. When the FES stops increasing, it
is the maximum positive working position of the auto-focus
system. The minimum negative working position can be found
in the reverse direction as well. Third, set the microscope back
6
W-Y Hsu et al
to the reference zero position. Finally, move the microscope
step by step to the maximum positive working position; reverse
to the minimum negative working position and then back to
the zero position. Recording the microscope’s relative distance
and the FES data at each step, the whole FES curve can be
found.
Figures 10–12 show the experimental FES curves for the
20×, 10× and 5× objectives, respectively. The experimental
results show that there are linear regions of FES curves
around the focal point for the 20×, 10× and 5× objectives,
respectively. The linear region of the FES curve means that
every FES value corresponds to one unique microscope’s
relative distance. The results also show that the FES sensitivity
of a high magnification objective (short focal length) is higher
than that of the low ones. In a real optical system, there exists
a diffraction effect which is not considered in the modeling of
Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 (2009) 045902 W-Y Hsu et al

Computer 10μF 5V
31 40
10Ω
9
1 GND P0.0 17
2 AI 0 USB P0.1 18

Digital Input/Output
3 AI 4 P0.2 19
From photodiode
1
4 GND P0.3 20

Analog Input
2
5 AI 1 P0.4 21
3 21
6 AI 5 P0.5 22

USB 6008
7 GND 4
P0.6 23
8 AI 2 P0.7 24 12 MCS-51 22
9 AI 6 P1.0 25 25
26 to stepping motor
10 GND P1.1 26
11 AI 3 P1.2 27 27
30pF
12 AI 7 P1.3 28 19
13 GND PFI 0 29
14 AO 0 +2.5V 30 12MHz
18 20
15 AO 1 +5V 31
16 GND GND 32 30pF

Figure 9. USB 6008 and MCS-51 communication.

FES curve of 20X Objective FES curve of 5X Objective

1 1
Experiment Experiment
Simulation of Geometric Optics Simulation of Geometric Optics
0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2
FES
FES

0 0

-0.2 -0.2

-0.4 -0.4

-0.6 -0.6

-0.8 -0.8
-1
-1 -1500 -1000 -500 0 500 1000 1500
-100 -50 0 50 100
Microscope Relative Distance ( μ m ) Microscope Relative Distance ( μ m)

Figure 10. FES curve of 20× objective. Figure 12. FES curve of 5× objective.

the FES formulation in section 2. Because of the diffraction

FES curve of 10X Objective
1 effect, the spot shape on the four-quadrant photodiode cannot
Experiment be a perfect vertical and horizontal line at the margin positions.
Simulation of Geometric Optics
0.8 Therefore, the FES cannot be equal to 1 and −1, and the
0.6 geometric optics does not dominate the FES curve. Figure 10
shows that the FES curve of the 20× objective follows the
0.4
geometric optics at about half the nominal working range.
0.2 The experimental FES sensitivity is about 1.84 × 10−2 μm−1
at the focus position and it is close to the design value based
FES

0
on the geometric optics as shown in figure 5(b).
-0.2 In general, the FES curve will cross over the original point.
Because we designed and aligned the optical components and
-0.4
the four-quadrant photodiode to their best conditions exactly
-0.6 suitable for the 20× objective, the system deviates from the
-0.8
ideal conditions for the 10× and 5× objectives and their
corresponding FES curves do not cross over the original point
-1 exactly. The FES sensitivities are smaller than the ideal results
-400 -300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400
Microscope Relative Distance ( μ m)
based on the geometric optics calculation. The FES and FES
sensitivities at the focus position of the three objectives are
Figure 11. FES curve of 10× objective. listed in table 2. The focusing window is the product of FES

7
Meas. Sci. Technol. 20 (2009) 045902
IC chip IC chip
(a) (b)
RGB cell RGB cell
(d) (e)
Figure 13. Auto-focus test samples.
Table 2. FES requirement for auto-focus.
Microscope objective FES sensitivity at focus position FES at focus position
20× 18.40 × 10−3 μm−1 0.004
10× 3.58 × 10−3 μm−1 −0.082
5× 0.87 × 10−3 μm−1 −0.023
sensitivity at the focus position and depth of objective focus.
Inside the focusing window, the microscope has a clear image
of the sample under inspection. Because the depth of focus and
FES sensitivity are different, the focusing windows of the three
objectives have different levels. The depth of focus and the
FES sensitivity of the 20× objective are 1.7 μm and 1.84 ×
10−2 μm−1 , respectively. If the detected FES is inside the
focusing window (0.004 ± 0.016), then a clear sample image
is displayed for the 20× objective. The focusing windows for
the 10× and 5× objectives are −0.082 ± 0.08 and −0.023 ±
0.06, respectively. The detected FES value has a noise level
of 0.001 after averaging. This means that the astigmatic auto-
focus microscope system could work very reliably and the
astigmatic auto-focus system designed for the 20× objective
could also be workable for the 10× and 5× objectives.
Figure 13 shows several example samples tested by this
system. The auto-focus system proves to function well even
for samples with a rough surface such as a machined metal
surface. The cycle time of the auto-focus system could be
divided into three portions: data sampling time, microscope
axial positioning time, and data analysis and communication
time. The data-sampling rate of the NI USB 6008 is 10 kHz,
and 200 sampling data are collected on average, therefore
the data sampling time is 0.08 s. The maximum speed of
the stepping motor is 2.5 mm s−1 . For a 50 μm moving
distance, the microscope axial positioning time is about
0.02 s. Because the data analysis and communication time are
relatively shorter than the data sampling time and microscope
axial moving time, the total cycle time of this system for the
20× objective is estimated to be less than 0.2 s.
8
W-Y Hsu et al
Cell circuit
(c)
Machined metal surface
(f)
Depth of focus Focusing window
1.7 μm 0.004 ± 0.016
4.1 μm −0.082 ± 0.08
14.0 μm −0.023 ± 0.06
5. Conclusions
An astigmatic auto-focus microscope system has been
developed successfully. The design rules of the key component
in the system, the astigmatic lens, are proposed based on
geometric optics and then simulated by optical design software
to get an exact position of the four-quadrant photodiode in
order to implement the auto-focus system. An astigmatic
auto-focus system for a 20× objective is designed with a
±50 μm working range and can also perform for the 10× and
5× objectives. Because the focusing window of each objective
is much larger than the system noise level, the auto-focus
system functions fast and reliably. The auto-focus system
has been demonstrated with samples such as integrated circuit
(IC) chips, color filter cells and circular cells of liquid crystal
display, and machined metal surfaces under a 0.2 s cycle time
for the 20× objective microscope with a ±50 μm working
range.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the National Science Council,
Republic of China, under grant NSC 95-3114-P-001-008-
MY3.
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