Patent ID: 6838650

Claim:
A confocal imaging system for imaging a surface comprising: an array sensor having rows of sensors for detecting light emitted from the surface, and an optical system comprising an objective lens, and a microlens and pinhole array assembly, the objective lens defining an optical axis of the imaging system and being positioned to focus light from the surface onto the microlens and pinhole array assembly and further onto the array sensor, characterised in that the microlens and pinhole array assembly comprises; a microlens array, a fiber optic faceplate having a first surface adjacent the microlens array, and a second surface slanted relative to the first surface, and a pinhole array tilted at an oblique angle relative to the optical axis of the imaging system and positioned adjacent the slanted second surface of the fiber optic faceplate such that light passing through the pinhole array is transmitted through the fiber optic faceplate to the first surface adjacent the microlens array, whereby subsequent rows of pinholes in the pinhole array are staggered at increasing distances along the optical axis of the imaging system and light from different focal planes adjacent the surface is focussed onto different sensor rows of the array sensor.