Microscopes, including viewing and other microscopic systems, employ a hinged, tiltable plate to adjust focus on a flat object such as a
microscope slide or
biochip by motion, achieved by tilting, which is substantially normal to the focus point on the plane of the object. By employing two such tiltable arrangements, relatively long scan lines of e.g., flying objective,
single pixel on-axis scanning can be accommodated. The tilting support plate is specifically constructed to provide tailored locations for different objects in series along the Y axis of the plate. The plate can accommodate beaters and cooled plates and / or the flat object being examined. In a
fluorescence scanning
microscope, locations are specifically adapted to receive
microscope slides and
biochip cartridges such as Affymetrix's “
Gene Chip®”. A scanning microscope under
computer control, employing such a focusing action, enables unattended scanning of biochips with a simple and economical instrument. Also shown are flexure-mounting of a support plate to define the hinge axis, techniques for automatically determining position and focus, and a rotatably oscillating flying micro-objective
scanner combined with the tilting plane focus
system. Construction and control techniques are shown that realize simple and accurate focusing. Methods of examination of
biological materials are disclosed. Simple and efficient focused scanning with a flying micro-objective of ordered arrays of nucleotides and
nucleic acid fragments carried upon a
microscope slide or other substrate is disclosed. Quantified
fluorescence imaging is economically achieved by
combined use of the described scanning and focusing arrangement and use of simple and accurate calibration modules respectively for example for Affymetrix's “
Gene Chip”
microarray modules and for microscope slides.