Patent US 6,160,908

A confocal microscope has a light source, a scanning device for two-dimensionally scanning light from the light source on a specimen, an objective lens arranged between the scanning device and the specimen, a driving device for moving the objective lens and the specimen relative to each other in the optical axis direction of the objective lens, a control circuit for simultaneously driving the scanning device and the driving device, and controlling the scanning speed of the scanning device and the moving speed of the driving device, an image acquisition device for detecting light from the specimen while the scanning device and the driving device are being driven, and acquiring slice images of the specimen on planes respectively perpendicular to two inclined axes which are symmetrical about the optical axis or an axis inclined from the optical axis, and a display device for displaying a stereoscopic image of the specimen on the basis of the images acquired by the image acquisition device.