| US 7,586,085 B2 | ||
| Photo-detection device and method | ||
| Motoichi Ohtsu, Tokyo (Japan); Motonobu Kourogi, Kanagawa (Japan); Shuji Mononobe, Kanagawa (Japan); Takashi Yatsui, Kanagawa (Japan); Koji Yamamoto, Kanagawa (Japan); Toshiyuki Inokuchi, Tokyo (Japan); and Masato Takada, Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology, Kawasaki-shi (Japan); Hoden Seimitsu Kakokenkyusho Co., Ltd., Atsugi-shi (Japan); and Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Appl. No. 10/563,626 PCT Filed Jul. 08, 2004, PCT No. PCT/JP2004/009748 § 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Sep. 11, 2006, PCT Pub. No. WO2005/003737, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 13, 2005. |
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| Claims priority of application No. 2003-193680 (JP), filed on Jul. 08, 2003. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0018082 A1, Jan. 25, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. H01J 3/14 (2006.01); H01J 37/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 250—227.3 [250/227.11; 250/234; 385/12; 385/43; 385/123; 356/73] | 19 Claims |
| 1. A light detecting apparatus comprising:
an optical fiber probe whose distal end faces a surface that it measures, the probe forming a spot of light on said surface,
and detecting light from said surface for measurement; and
a probe controller that switches the light detecting apparatus between broad range measurement mode and high resolution measurement
mode by controlling a distance between the distal end of said optical fiber probe and said surface for measurement based on
said distance correlated to the value of the diameter of a light radiating aperture formed centrally of the distal end of
a core of said optical fiber probe,
wherein said broad range measurement mode exploits the light propagated through said core of said optical fiber probe and
said high resolution measurement mode exploits near-field light seeping from said core of said optical fiber probe.
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