Method and configuration for the optical detection of an illuminated specimen

A configuration for the optical detection of an illuminated specimen, wherein illuminating light impinges in a spatially structured manner in at least one plane on the specimen, and several images of the specimen are acquired by a detector in different positions of the structure on the specimen, from which images an optical sectional image or an image with enhanced resolution is calculated, comprising a diffraction pattern generated in the direction of the specimen, in or near the pupil of the objective lens or in a plane conjugate to said pupil, and a phase plate with regions of different phase delays dedicated to said diffraction pattern in or near the pupil of the objective lens or in a plane conjugate to said pupil, which phase plate is constructed so as to be pivotable in order to set different phase angles of the illuminating light for at least one diffraction order on the sample, wherein a spatially periodic structure for structuring the illuminating light is disposed in an intermediate image plane.