Patent ID: 7961397

Claim:
A single-channel optical processing system for an energetic-beam instrument; the system comprising: a first optical path for processing radiation; a second optical path for illumination radiation; a combiner; the combiner oriented so that the first optical path and the second optical path are incident on the combiner; and, the illumination radiation and the processing radiation pass through the combiner and exit the combiner along a same optical path as combined incident radiation; a polarizer positioned in the optical path of the combined incident radiation; a beam splitter positioned in the optical path of the combined incident radiation following the polarizer; the beam splitter oriented so that the combined incident radiation passes directly through it; a quarter-wave plate located in the optical path of the combined incident radiation, following the beam splitter; a self-focusing rod lens, the rod lens having first and second ends; the self-focusing rod lens located in the optical path of the combined incident radiation following the quarter-wave plate, so that the combined incident radiation enters the first end of the self-focusing rod lens and exits from the second end thereof; the second end of the self-focusing rod lens located in the vacuum chamber of the energetic-beam instrument, so as to allow a sample surface located in the vacuum chamber of the energetic-beam instrument to be illuminated by the combined incident radiation; the self-focusing rod lens further located to receive at the second end thereof at least a portion of the combined incident radiation reflected from the sample surface; the self-focusing rod lens further located so that the portion of the reflected combined radiation received by the self-focusing rod lens exits from the first end of the self-focusing rod lens, passes through the quarter-wave plate and enters the beam splitter; and, the beam splitter further oriented so as to reflect the reflected combined radiation at an angle from the optical path of the reflected combined radiation exiting the self-focusing rod lens.