High-precision optical measurement methods

Abstract

A variety of high precision optical measurement methods are presented and discussed. Noncontact optical methods are appropriate for micro- and macrostructure measurements. Time of flight and phase measuring techniques with a resolution in the order of a few mm to one mm respectively are covered. Furthermore active and passive triangulation techniques are very robust and appropriate for different applications in precision measurements. Moire techniques or projected fringe techniques are useful tools for topography measurements. Furthermore image plane locating systems can be applied to analyze the surface topometry. Recently confocal principles were studied to be applied for the measurement of the surface geometry and microstructure. Today, laser interferometry is probably one of the most commonly used techniques for very high resolution measurements in metrology. Interferometry and Moire techniques as well as image plane locating systems will be applied more frequently, when used with image processing. They are becoming useful tools for precision measurements in research and for industrial applications. Computer analysis is increasingly important for fringe analysis. The use of solid-state detector arrays, image memory boards together with microprocessors and computers for the extraction of the information from the interferograms and high-resolution graphic boards find important application in optical metrology.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.