A study of the surface parameters of ground and lapped metal surfaces, using specular and diffuse reflection of laser light

Abstract

Laser light, with a photocell giving a logarithmic response, is used to measure the specular and diffuse reflection from ground and ground and lapped metal surfaces. Theory suggests that the probability distribution of roughness heights determines the specular reflection, while the distribution of surface slopes determines the diffuse reflection. For specular reflection the theory gives useful results even in the range of grazing incidence (70° or 80°) which must be used for the roughness range 0.2 to 1.5 μm. The optical and profilometer results suggest skewed non-Gaussian probability distributions, and a theoretical model which may account for such distributions is suggested. The diffuse light results show that, except for the roughest specimens, the slope distribution is also non-Gaussian. The standard deviation of the slopes increases with roughness, and the relation between them is obtained.