A
system for multiple mode imaging is disclosed herein. The
system is a
catadioptric system preferably having an NA greater than 0.9, highly corrected for low and high order monochromatic aberrations. This
system uses unique illumination entrances and can collect reflected, diffracted, and
scattered light over a range of angles. The system includes a catadioptric group, focusing
optics group, and tube lens group. The catadioptric group includes a focusing mirror and a
refractive lens / mirror element. The focusing
optics group is
proximate to an
intermediate image, and corrects for aberrations from the catadioptric group, especially high order
spherical aberration and
coma. The tube lens group forms the magnified image. Different tube lens groups can be used to obtain different magnifications, such as a varifocal tube lens group to continuously change magnifications from 20 to 200×. Multiple imaging
modes are possible by varying the illumination geometry and apertures at the
pupil plane. Imaging
modes include bright-field, full
sky, ring dark-field, inverted ring dark-field, directional dark-field, double dark-field, Manhattan geometry,
confocal bright-field,
confocal dark-field, conoscopic, etc. Illumination can enter the catadioptric optical system using an auxiliary beamsplitter or mirror, or through the catadioptric group at any angle from 0 to 85 degrees from vertical. Multiple beams at multiple angles may be used for illumination. The high NA
catadioptric system can also have a relayed
pupil plane, used to select different imaging
modes, providing simultaneous operation of different imaging modes,
Fourier filtering, and other
pupil shaping operations.