Confocal microscopy with a refractive microlens–pinhole array

The stable setup of a confocal arrangement consisting of a combination of a refractive microlens and a pinhole array is presented. The focal plane of the microlenses lies at the rear surface of the substrate in the pinhole plane. By using a microscope objective one can image the stop array onto the object at a reduced size. Surface profiles of refractive and diffractive optical elements were measured with the help of this confocal microscope.