Abstract
A problem with conventional techniques of interference microscopy, when profiling surfaces with an extended range of heights, is that only points on a single plane are in sharp focus. Other points, which are higher or lower, may be out of focus, with a consequent loss of lateral resolution. We show that white-light interference microscopy, with an achromatic phase-shifter, makes it possible to produce a three-dimensional representation of such surfaces with high lateral resolution over the entire range of heights.
Highlights
Conventional techniques of interference microscopy using monochromatic light offer excellent vertical resolution
A problem with conventional techniques of interference microscopy, when profiling surfaces with an extended range of heights, is that only points on a single plane are in sharp focus
We show that white-light interference microscopy, with an achromatic phase-shifter, makes it possible to produce a three-dimensional representation of such surfaces with high lateral resolution over the entire range of heights
Summary
Conventional techniques of interference microscopy using monochromatic light offer excellent vertical resolution. The difference of these values yields the phase difference that would have been obtained with a longer synthetic wavelength, and measurements can be made without ambiguities over a correspondingly longer distance [1,2,3] Another problem which presents itself with profilers using monochromatic light, or with the two-wavelength technique, is that since the image of the object is recorded at a single focus setting, only points on a single plane in the object are in sharp focus. It is possible to acquire a set of phase-shifted images at each height setting without changing the optical path difference We show that this technique yields high lateral resolution over the entire range of depths, due to the optical sectioning property of low-coherence interference (LCI) microscopy, which effectively exploits coherence effects to maximize lateral resolution. Since the final image is built up using information at each point on the object acquired from a single plane very close to it, points at different depths are imaged with a minimal loss of resolution
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