Presented is a novel phase-shifting point diffraction interferometer design that preserves the advantages of the conventional point diffraction interferometer yet permits phase-shifting interferometry capability and significantly higher throughput. This compact, common-path interferometer generates the reference wave front by diffraction from a tiny pinhole and does not require reference surfaces or long coherence lengths. These features make the interferometer useful for accurate wave-front measurement over a wide spectral range. This instrument is being developed for accurate, high-resolution wave-front metrology of optics for extreme-ultraviolet projection lithography near the 13-nm wavelength.