Method and Apparatus for Light Sheet Microscopy and Method and Apparatus for Varying an Intensity of Illumination Light

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for light sheet microscopy, in which a sample is illuminated with a light sheet and is observed with a microscope, wherein illumination light is shaped to form the light sheet using a controllable phase mask, wherein the controllable phase mask is controlled to form a phase pattern in which at least first regions and second regions are arranged in alternation, wherein a greater phase angle deviation is impressed on the illumination light in the first regions than in the second regions, and wherein at least the phase angle deviation of the first regions is controlled in a spatially dependent manner for influencing the intensity of the illumination light at different locations of a cross-sectional area of the light sheet. The invention additionally relates to a method and an apparatus for providing illumination light with variable intensity.