FINITE-SIZED COHERENT AND INCOHERENT DETECTORS IN CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY

We consider the effects of finite sized coherent and incoherent detect ors on the axial resolution of confocal microscopes. We adopt a high-a ngle vector approach which takes the polarization property of the obje ct into account. We further consider polarization imaging and show tha t coherent detection has an advantage over incoherent detection in ter ms of the value of the extinction coefficient. The desirability of abe rration correction is briefly discussed.