Optical device with an illuminating grid and detector grid arranged confocally to an object

An apparatus for performing a three-dimensional examination of an object, said apparatus comprising:

• an illuminating grid simultaneously generating several separate light spots or shadow zones;
• a detector grid which includes a plurality of independent detector elements, whose center-to-center distances define a detector grid size;
• imaging optical elements having a focal plane, said object being positioned in said focal plane,
• wherein said imaging optical elements image said illuminating grid into said focal plane to generate several separate light spots or shadow zones in said focal plane whose center-to-center distances define an illuminating grid size,
• wherein said imaging optical elements image the focal plane on the detector grid,
• wherein either the image of the illuminating grid size in the plane of the detector grid is larger than the detector grid size or the detector grid size is larger than the diameters and/or edge lengths of the photosensitive surfaces of the individual detector elements, and
• wherein the object is examined simultaneously at a large number of object points according to said separate light spots or shadow zones,
• wherein the detector grid size equals at least twice the diameter or edge length of the photosensitive areas of the individual detector elements of the detector grid or the image of the illumination grid size in the plane of the detector grid equals at least twice the detector grid size.