Methods and apparatus for characterizing a surface
First Claim
1. A method for characterizing a surface, comprising the steps of:
- selecting a plurality of bands of spatial frequencies, each having an upper and a lower limit;
directing a beam of light having a known wavelength onto the surface at a known incident angle with respect to normal of the surface;
collecting the total scatter of light corresponding to each of the selected bands of spatial frequencies;
measuring the total integrated scatter of each of the selected bands of spatial frequencies by detecting the intensity of the collected light;
using the total integrated scatter data and the upper and lower limits of spatial frequency for each of the selected bands to estimate the spectral integrated scatter function; and
approximating the total integrated scatter of the surface over desired spatial frequency limits from the spectral integrated scatter function.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for characterizing a surface are disclosed. The system includes a light source and source optics which direct a beam of light toward the surface. A first optical integrating device is positioned and configured to receive a first portion of the scattered light which corresponds to a first range of spatial frequencies. A second optical integrating device is positioned and configured to receive a second portion of the scattered light corresponding to a second range of spatial frequencies. In one embodiment, an integrating sphere is employed as the first optical integrating device. The sphere includes a sampling aperture which is surrounded by a light absorption region on the interior of the sphere. Total integrated scatter data is generated for each range of spatial frequencies and is used to approximate the spectral scatter function of the surface. RMS roughness is then approximated for any range of spatial frequencies.
51 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method for characterizing a surface, comprising the steps of:
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selecting a plurality of bands of spatial frequencies, each having an upper and a lower limit; directing a beam of light having a known wavelength onto the surface at a known incident angle with respect to normal of the surface; collecting the total scatter of light corresponding to each of the selected bands of spatial frequencies; measuring the total integrated scatter of each of the selected bands of spatial frequencies by detecting the intensity of the collected light; using the total integrated scatter data and the upper and lower limits of spatial frequency for each of the selected bands to estimate the spectral integrated scatter function; and approximating the total integrated scatter of the surface over desired spatial frequency limits from the spectral integrated scatter function. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for characterizing a surface, comprising:
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a light source capable of producing a beam of light at a predetermined wavelength (λ
);source optics for directing the beam of light toward the surface at an incident angle (θ
i) with respect to the normal of the surface to thereby create a reflected specular beam and scattered light;a first optical integrating device positioned and configured to receive a first portion of the scattered light, the first portion of the scattered light extending from a first scatter angle (θ
1) to a second scatter anglea first detector positioned to detect the intensity of the first portion of the scattered light; a second optical integrating device positioned and configured to receive a second portion of the scattered light, the second portion of the scattered light extending from a third scatter angle (θ
3) to a fourth scatter angle (θ
4);a second detector positioned to detect the intensity of the second portion of the scattered light; and a specular detector positioned to detect the intensity of the specular beam. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification