Patent ID: 7483146
Filing Date: 2009-01-27
Classification: G01B

Abstract:
1. A system configured to provide illumination of a specimen, comprising: a light source configured to generate pulses of light at a repetition rate; optical elements arranged in a first interferometer configuration and a second interferometer configuration, wherein the first interferometer configuration is positioned in a path of the pulses of light between the light source and the second interferometer configuration, wherein the second interferometer configuration is positioned in the path of the pulses of light between the first interferometer configuration and the specimen, wherein the first interferometer configuration is a Michelson interferometer configuration, wherein the second interferometer configuration is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer configuration, and wherein the optical elements are configured to quadruple the repetition rate of the pulses of light; and an electro-optic phase modulator configured to receive the pulses of light from the optical elements and to alter a polarization of the pulses of light at a rate of one half the quadrupled repetition rate such that the pulses of light can be directed to the specimen as effectively continuous-wave uniformly polarized illumination.