Apparatus and methods are disclosed for measuring polarization properties and phase information, for example as can be used in microscopy applications. According to one example of the disclosed technology, an apparatus includes a light source, an interferometer configured to receive light generated by the light source and split the received light into two split beam outputs. The split beam outputs including combined, interfering light beams. Two light sensors, each including a polarization-sensitive focal plane array receive a respective one of the split beam outputs from the interferometer. Thus, some examples of the disclosed technology allows for simultaneous or concurrent measurement of properties of light including intensity, wavelength, polarization, and phase. The polarization-sensitive focal plane array includes a number of macropixels, each of which includes superpixels having different polarization filtering properties, each of which includes one or more pixels, which comprise filters for different colors.

A computer-implemented method for surface modeling includes: receiving one or more polarization raw frames of a surface of a physical object, the polarization raw frames being captured with a polarizing filter at different linear polarization angles; extracting one or more first tensors in one or more polarization representation spaces from the polarization raw frames; and detecting a surface characteristic of the surface of the physical object based on the one or more first tensors in the one or more polarization representation spaces.

A Cassegrain or quasi-Cassegrain structure objective lens is used in a polar MOKE metrology system. The quasi-Cassegrain reflective objective lens includes a primary concave mirror and a secondary mirror. The primary concave mirror has a wider diameter than the secondary mirror and defines an aperture through which the laser beam is configured to be transmitted toward the secondary mirror. The secondary mirror can be convex, concave, or have a flat surface.

The polarized microscope includes a light source configured to generate illumination light, a polarizer configured to interact with the generated illumination light to transmit rectilinear polarized light having a first orientation, an analyzer configured to transmit a component of rectilinear polarized light reflected by a sample, the reflected rectilinear polarized light having a second orientation, an image obtainer configured to obtain an image of the reflected rectilinear polarized light, and an image processor configured to process the obtained image, wherein the image processor is configured to calculate a device integer, obtain a plurality of hysteresis loops for each of regions of interest (ROIs), and calculate a rotation angle of a Kerr rotation of each ROI by using the device integer and the plurality of hysteresis loops.

An apparatus, system, and related methods for the conversion of a regular bright-field microscope into a PS-QPI (Polarization-Sensitivity and Quantitative Phase Imaging) microscope system. A regular bright-field microscope is converted by insertion of a polarizing element in the illumination path and a Fresnel biprism in the image space of the system. The converted system is suitable for real-time quantitative PS phase imaging in a broad number of biological applications aimed at understanding cell growth and dynamic changes occurring during physiological processes, as well as identification of cell/tissue screening and diagnosis.

A system for optical imaging of defects on unpatterned wafers that includes an illumination module, relay optics, a segmented polarizer, and a detector. The illumination module is configured to produce a polarized light beam incident on a selectable area of an unpatterned wafer. The relay optics is configured to collect and guide, radiation scattered off the area, onto the polarizer. The detector is configured to sense scattered radiation passed through the polarizer. The polarizer includes at least four polarizer segments, such that (i) boundary lines, separating the polarizer segments, are curved outwards relative to a plane, perpendicular to the segmented polarizer, unless the boundary line is on the perpendicular plane, and (ii) when the area comprises a typical defect, a signal-to-noise ratio of scattered radiation, passed through the polarizer segments, is increased as compared to when utilizing a linear polarizer.

The invention relates to a filter interchange apparatus for an optical observation instrument having two beam paths, in particular for a stereoscopic observation instrument, in particular for a stereo video endoscope, a stereo exoscope or a stereo surgical microscope, wherein the filter interchange apparatus comprises a first filter wheel, a second filter wheel and a third filter wheel, wherein the filter wheels are arranged in succession along a common axle and are rotatable about the common axle and relative to one another. Each filter wheel comprises at least one filter and at least one free optical passage such that a filter or a free optical passage of each filter wheel is introducible into each of the two beam paths. The second filter wheel is drivable and the first filter wheel is coupled to the second filter wheel via a first entrainment element and the third filter wheel is coupled to the second filter wheel via a second entrainment element. Moreover, the invention relates to an optical observation instrument having two beam paths, in particular a stereo video endoscope, a stereo exoscope or a stereo surgical microscope, and to a method for changing a filter of an optical observation instrument.

An optical apparatus includes an angle filter disposed on an optical path in the middle of focusing or in the middle of divergence by a focusing optical element. The angle filter includes a dielectric multilayer film in which dielectric layers having a first refractive index and dielectric layers having a second refractive index lower than the first refractive index are alternately stacked.

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for characterizing a microlithographic mask. In a method according to the invention, structures of a mask intended for use in a lithography process in a microlithographic projection exposure apparatus are illuminated by an illumination optical unit, wherein the mask is imaged onto a detector unit which has a plurality of pixels by an imaging optical unit. Here, a plurality of individual imaging processes are carried out with a pixel resolution specified by the detector unit, wherein these individual imaging processes differ from one another in respect of the position of at least one polarization-optical element situated in the imaging optical unit, wherein image data recorded by the detector unit are evaluated in an evaluation unit, wherein polarization-dependent effects on account of a polarization dependence of the interference of electromagnetic radiation that takes place in the wafer plane during the operation of the microlithographic projection exposure apparatus are emulated, wherein a conversion of the image data obtained in the individual imaging processes is implemented, in each case on the basis of at least one calibration image obtained by imaging a structure-free region of the mask onto the detector unit, wherein the calibration image respectively used is chosen differently depending on the position of the at least one polarization-optical element.

A three-dimensional (3D) microscope includes various insertable components that facilitate multiple imaging and measurement capabilities. These capabilities include Nomarski imaging, polarized light imaging, quantitative differential interference contrast (q-DIC) imaging, motorized polarized light imaging, phase-shifting interferometry (PSI), and vertical-scanning interferometry (VSI).