A scanner and an attenuated total reflection (ATR) objective for use in such scanners are disclosed. The ATR objective includes first and second optical elements and an input port. The input port receives an input collimated light beam that is focused to a point on a planar face of the first optical element by the second optical element such that substantially all of that portion is reflected by the planar face and no portion of the input beam strikes the planar face at an angle less than the critical angle. The second optical element also generates an output collimated light beam from light reflected from the planar thce that is characterized by a central ray that is coincident with the central ray of the input collimated light beam. A light beam converter receives the first collimated light beam and generates the input collimated light beam therefrom.