Catoptric and catadioptric imaging system with pellicle and aperture-array beam-splitters and non-adaptive and adaptive catoptric surfaces

Abstract

An interferometric system including: an interferometer that directs a measurement beam at an object point to produce a return measurement beam, focuses the return measurement beam to an image point in an image plane, and mixes the return measurement beam with a reference beam at the image point to form a mixed beam; a beam combining layer located at the image plane which is responsive to the mixed beam and produces an optical beam therefrom, wherein the layer comprises a thin film with an array of transmissive openings formed therein and further comprises a fluorescent material associated with each of the openings of the array of openings; a detector that is responsive to the optical beam from the beam combining layer; and an imaging system that directs the optical beam from the beam combining layer onto the detector.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 506,715, filed Sep. 26, 2003.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] A number of different applications of catadioptric imaging systems for far-field and near-field interferometric confocal and non-confocal microscopy have been described such as in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,552,852 (ZI-38) entitled “Catoptric And Catadioptric Imaging Systems” and No. 6,717,736 (ZI-43) entitled “Catoptric And Catadioptric Imaging Systems;” U.S. Provisional Patent Applications No. 60 / 447,254, filed Feb. 13, 2003, entitled “Transverse Differential Interferometric Confocal Microscopy,” (ZI-40); No. 60 / 448,360, filed Feb. 19, 2003, entitled “Longitudinal Differential Interferometric Confocal Microscopy for Surface Profiling,” (ZI-41); No. 60 / 448,250, filed Feb. 19, 2003, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Dark Field Interferometric Confocal Microscopy,” (ZI-42); No. 60 / 442,982, filed Jan. 28, 2003, entitled “Interferometric...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent describes a new method for improving the image quality of an interferometric imaging system by using a thin beam-splitter to create an image with zero or minimal optical aberrations. The use of a thin beam-splitter reduces the need for optical elements in the system and increases the field of view. The patent also discusses the use of multi-element adaptive catoptric surfaces to compensate for optical aberrations introduced by a beam-splitter or other factors. Additionally, the patent describes the use of a thin fluorescent layer or interface to generate an optical interference signal and the impact of non-common path phase errors on the required performance specifications of the optical elements and detector. The patent also mentions the use of N-dimensional bi- and quad-homodyne detection methods to extend the advantages of these methods for measuring jointly N different properties of fields. Overall, the patent provides technical means for improving the performance of interferometric imaging systems."

Problems solved by technology

In the case where a beam-splitter is used for the beam combining function, the measurement beam component and the reference beam component of the combined beam may have subsequent to the beam-splitter different paths in the optical elements which introduces the possibility of non-common path phase errors.

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