Imaging confocal microscopy (ICM) and focus variation (FV) are two of the most used technologies for 3D surface metrology. Both methods rely on the depth of focus of the microscope objective, which depends on its numerical aperture and wavelength of the light source to compute an optical section. In this paper we study how several methods of structured illumination microscopy affect the metrological characteristics of an areal optical profiler. We study the effect of the projection of different structured patterns, the sectioning algorithms, and the use of high and low frequency components onto the optically sectioned image. We characterized their performance in terms of system noise, instrument transfer function and metrological characteristics such as roughness parameters and step height values.
Most 3D metrological microscopes used today require a scanning through the optical axis, which is time consuming. The common techniques are Coherence Scanning Interferometry (CSI), Imaging Confocal Microscopy (ICM), and Focus Variation (FV). If one technique is good for smooth surfaces, it is not for rough ones, while the good for rough is too noisy for smooth ones. Additionally, high local slopes are also dependent on the scattering properties of the surface, making the Numerical Aperture of the objective the most important property of the microscope. Imaging Confocal Microscopy is the best compromise in terms of surface application range (from smooth to rough), high local slopes on shiny surfaces, highest numerical aperture and highest possible magnification. Unfortunately, any kind of Confocal microscope today (laser scan, disc scan or microdisplay scan) requires an in-plane scanning to build up the confocal image in addition to the vertical scan, increasing the total measuring time in comparison to CSI and FV. This is against the needs of quality control in production environments, where scanning speed must be as short as possible. In this paper, we use a Microdisplay Scanning Microscope for obtaining the confocal image only relying on a single image per plane. We use a structured illumination to project a desired pattern onto the surface with a very well-defined frequency and direction. By means of the Hilbert transform, we digitally shift the projected pattern one or many times to recover the bright field and the optical sectioned images. This new method reduces significantly the measurement time, simplifies the overall cost of the system and eliminates the maintenance of scanning devices, while maintaining the optical sectioning properties of each plane. We also studied the performance of the resulting topography in terms of system noise, accuracy, repeatability and fidelity of the surface using different methods to obtain the confocal image. Finally, we also compared the results with true confocal results and with other techniques that require a single image per plane, such as Active illumination Focus Variation (AiFV).
Focus Variation (FV) has been successfully employed for the three-dimensional measurement of rough surfaces. The technique relies on scanning the sample under inspection across the depth of focus of a high numerical aperture microscope objective, while computing the local contrast of its surface. Only those samples with sufficient texture will provide a usable axial response to compute its height location, limiting the application of Focus Variation to optically rough surfaces. Active illumination Focus Variation (AiFV) introduces an artificial texture on the field diaphragm position which is superimposed onto the surface. The benefit is a usable axial response, even when scanning an optically smooth surface, while minimizing the evaluation window of the focus operator close to the spatial autocorrelation length of the artificial texture. In this paper, we show the development of an Active illumination Focus Variation on an existing confocal microscope using Microdisplay Scanning technology. We analyzed the performance of AiFV on smooth surfaces with low frequency components, such as traceable Step Height or Type B2 roughness standards. Higher frequency samples such as random direction roughness standards or high-resolution targets are affected by the lateral resolution loss inherent on the AiFV technique. In this paper, we compare the lateral resolution limit of AiFV and Confocal Microscopy with the use of a Siemens Star specimen for a range of microscope objectives with numerical apertures from 0.3 to 0.95. Its influence on the computed ISO 25178 parameters on random surfaces is shown.
Imaging Confocal Microscopes (ICM) are highly used for the assessment of three-dimensional measurement of technical surfaces. The benefit of an ICM in comparison to an interferometer is the use of high numerical aperture microscope objectives, which allows retrieving signal from high slope regions of a surface. When measuring a flat sample, such as a high-quality mirror, all ICM’s show a complex shape of low frequencies instead of a uniform flat result. Such shape, obtained from a λ/10, Sa < 0.5 nm calibration mirror is used as a reference for being subtracted from all the measurements, according to ISO 25178-607. This is true and valid only for those surfaces that have small slopes. When measuring surfaces with varying local slopes or tilted with respect to the calibration, the flatness error calibration is no longer valid, leaving what is called the residual flatness error.
In this paper we show that the residual flatness error on a reference sphere measured with a 10X can make the measurement of the radius to have up to 10% error. We analyzed the sources that generate this effect and proposed a method to correct it: we measured a tilted mirror with several angles and characterized the flatness error as a function of the distance to the optical axis, and the tilt angle. New measurements take into account such characterization by assessing the local slopes. We tested the method on calibrated reference spheres and proved to provide correct measurements. We also analyzed this behavior in Laser Scan as well on Microdisplay Scan confocal microscopes.
Confocal microscopes are widely used for areal measurements thanks to its good height resolution and the capability to
measure high local slopes. For the measurement of large areas while keeping few nm of system noise, it is needed to use
high numerical aperture objectives, move the sample in the XY plane and stitch several fields together to cover the
required surface. On cylindrical surfaces a rotational stage is used to measure fields along the round surface and stitch
them in order to obtain a complete 3D measurement. The required amount of fields depends on the microscope’s
magnification, as well as on the cylinder diameter. However, for small diameters, if the local shape reaches slopes not
suitable for the objective under use, the active field of the camera has to be reduced, leading to an increase of the
required number of fields to be measured and stitched. In this paper we show a new approach for areal measurements of
cylindrical surfaces that uses a rotational stage in combination with a slit projection confocal arrangement and a highspeed
camera. An unrolled confocal image of the cylinder surface is built by rotating the sample and calculating the
confocal intensity in the centre of the slit using a gradient algorithm. A set of 360º confocal images can be obtained at
different heights of the sample relative to the sensor and used to calculate an unrolled areal measure of the cylinder. This
method has several advantages over the conventional one such as no stitching required, or reduced measurement time. In
addition, the result shows less residual flatness error since the surface lies flat in the measurement direction in
comparison to field measures where the highest slope regions will show field distortion and non-constant sampling. We
have also studied the influence on the areal measurements of wobble and run-out introduced by the clamping mechanism
and the rotational axis.
Stent quality control is a highly critical process. Cardiovascular stents have to be inspected 100% so as no defective stent is implanted in a human body. However, this visual control is currently performed manually and every stent could need tenths of minutes to be inspected. In this paper, a novel optical inspection system is presented. By the combination of a high numerical aperture (NA) optical system, a rotational stage and a line-scan camera, unrolled sections of the outer and inner surfaces of the stent are obtained and image-processed at high speed. Defects appearing in those surfaces and also in the edges are extremely contrasted due to the shadowing effect of the high NA illumination and acquisition approach. Therefore by means of morphological operations and a sensitivity parameter, defects are detected. Based on a trained defect library, a binary classifier sorts each kind of defect through a set of scoring vectors, providing the quality operator with all the required information to finally take a decision. We expect this new approach to make defect detection completely objective and to dramatically reduce the time and cost of stent quality control stage.
Stent quality control is a critical process. Coronary stents have to be inspected 100% so no defective stent is implanted into a human body. We have developed a high numerical aperture optical stent inspection system able to acquire both 2D and 3D images. Combining a rotational stage, an area camera with line-scan capability and a triple illumination arrangement, unrolled sections of the outer, inner, and sidewalls surfaces are obtained with high resolution. During stent inspection, surface roughness and coating thickness uniformity is of high interest. Due to the non-planar shape of the surface of the stents, the thickness values of the coating need to be corrected with the 3D surface local slopes. A theoretical model and a simulation are proposed, and a measurement with white light interferometry is shown. Confocal and spectroscopic reflectometry showed to be limited in this application due to stent surface roughness. Due to the high numerical aperture of the optical system, only certain parts of the stent are in focus, which is a problem for defect detection, specifically on the sidewalls. In order to obtain fully focused 2D images, an extended depth of field algorithm has been implemented. A comparison between pixel variance and Laplacian filtering is shown. To recover the stack image, two different methods are proposed: maximum projection and weighted intensity. Finally, we also discuss the implementation of the processing algorithms in both the CPU and GPU, targeting real-time 2-Million pixel image acquisition at 50 frames per second.
KEYWORDS: 3D metrology, Imaging systems, 3D scanning, Confocal microscopy, 3D metrology, Manufacturing, Optics manufacturing, Microscopes, 3D modeling, Interferometry, Inspection, Optical testing, Astatine, Image fusion, Data fusion, Signal to noise ratio, Sensors, Cameras, Objectives, 3D image processing
The most common optical measurement technologies used today for the three dimensional measurement of technical surfaces are Coherence Scanning Interferometry (CSI), Imaging Confocal Microscopy (IC), and Focus Variation (FV). Each one has its benefits and its drawbacks. FV will be the ideal technology for the measurement of those regions where the slopes are high and where the surface is very rough, while CSI and IC will provide better results for smoother and flatter surface regions. In this work we investigated the benefits and drawbacks of combining Interferometry, Confocal and focus variation to get better measurement of technical surfaces. We investigated a way of using Microdisplay Scanning type of Confocal Microscope to acquire on a simultaneous scan confocal and focus Variation information to reconstruct a three dimensional measurement. Several methods are presented to fuse the optical sectioning properties of both techniques as well as the topographical information. This work shows the benefit of this combination technique on several industrial samples where neither confocal nor focus variation is able to provide optimal results.
In this paper we introduce a new optical technique for the measurement of aspheric and free-form optics and moulds.
This technique, called confocal tracking, consists on tracking the focus on the sample while it is moved along the
horizontal XY axes. Unlike all single-point based techniques, confocal tracking images the surface, which makes it
possible to determine the best in focus position within every field of view and to correct the residual tracking errors for
each measured point. As a result, confocal tracking provides shape measurements with nm-level accuracy and
acquisition speeds of 1 mm/s typically. Depending on sample geometry, high NA objectives can be used, with which it is
possible to measure slopes as high as 65°. In addition, because confocal tracking is not a single-point but an imaging
technique, it is possible to center the surface to be measured with a very quick procedure that can be automated easily.
This step may be particularly relevant for optics with symmetry of revolution. The confocal tracking profiler is a
proprietary technology of UPC and Sensofar and can be considered the optical equivalent of a high-accuracy contact
profiler.
Optical profiling techniques, mainly confocal and white light interferometry, have demonstrated to be suitable
techniques for characterization of transparent thick films. Measurements are carried out by vertically scanning the
upper and lower film interfaces. Thickness of the layer is determined from the two peaks in the confocal axial response
or from the two sets of interference fringes developed during the vertical scan. The 3D topographies of the upper and
lower interfaces of the film can also be obtained. Measurements of photoresists or oxide coatings are typical examples
of thick film characterization. On the other hand, measurement of thin films is considered to be a very difficult
application to carry out with most optical imaging profilers. A film should be considered as thin when the two peaks
obtained along the vertical scan become unresolved. We introduce new methods based on confocal techniques, which
make it possible to measure sub-micrometric layers on structured samples. These techniques are based on the
comparison between the axial responses obtained in areas where the film is present and those in other areas where only
the substrate is present. This method has been successfully used for thickness assessment of several samples, such as a
set of calibrated Si-SiO2 layers.
New material applications and novel manufacturing processes are driving a systematic rise in market demands concerning surface inspection methods and the performance of non-contact profilers. However, analysis of the specifications and application notes of commercial optical profilers shows that no single system is able to offer all the features a general purpose user would like simultaneously. Whereas white light interferometers can achieve very fast measurements on the micro and nano-scale without any range limitation, they can not easily deal with steep smooth surfaces or structured samples containing dissimilar materials. PSI techniques allow the user to perform shape and texture measurements even below the 0.1 nm scale, but they have an extremely short measurement range. Imaging confocal profilers overcome most of these difficulties. They provide the best lateral resolution achievable with an optical profiler, but they have a resolution limit, which is dependent on the NA and cannot achieve the 0.1 nm vertical resolution. In this paper we introduce a new dual-technology (confocal & interferometer) illumination hardware setup. With this new sensor head it is possible to choose between standard microscope imaging, confocal imaging, confocal profiling, PSI and white light interferometry, by simply placing the right objective on the revolving nosepiece.
One of the most challenging applications of optical metrology is measuring the shape of the inner surfaces of nozzles such as those of fuel injectors, wiring dies and printheads. A current non-contact solution is confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). However, the inner urfaces of the nozzles behave as though they were optically polished, which gives rise to very weak, backscattered light signals. Therefore, measuring with CLSM is a very slow process and the uncertainty of the results is very high. Moreover, new nozzle designs are moving towards even steeper walls, which means that CLSM may well become useless in the near future. In this paper, we introduce a new method based on a proprietary unfolded confocal arrangement, which uses the light that is reflected onto the inner surfaces and that passes through the nozzle instead of the backscattering signal. The setup and implementation of this new method and the attendant profiling algorithms are explained. With regard to real applications, we focus on measuring the 3D topography of conical nozzles drilled into organic polymer films with excimer lasers. These films are used in the manufacture of the orifice plates, which are attached to the printheads of thermal inkjet cartridges. Fast measurements and accurate results obtained for nozzles of 25 micrometers in diameter and wall angles close to 17º are demonstrated.
A device has been designed for off-line optical paper inspection and quality control of stripes and holes in the cigarette paper. Hardware description is first presented including main paper characteristics to be measured. Typical paper stripe and holes structures are then discussed with image processing and analysis considerations to discriminate these structures, focusing in the problems derived from the small area of holes and of their internal structure that is analyzed with a confocal microscope. Algorithms for image processing and analysis are described. These algorithms involve equalization, binarization, stripes structure detection, holes distribution and statistics.
One of the applications, which is considered to be very difficult to carry out with most optical imaging profilers, is the shape and texture measurements of structured surfaces obtained from the superposition of various micro or sub-micrometric layers of dissimilar materials. Typical examples are the architectures of microelectronics samples made up of Si, SiO2, Si3N4, photoresists and metal layers. Because of the very different values of the index of refraction of the involved materials, visible light is reflected in the various interfaces. As a result, some reflected wavefronts are superposed giving rise to interference patterns, which are difficult to understand in terms of surface topography and layer thickness.
In this paper we introduce a new method based on non-contact confocal techniques to measure the shape of structured samples. The method is based on the comparison of the axial responses obtained in areas of the surface where there is a layer and in other areas where there is just the substrate. To our knowledge, this approach enables the confocal profilers to measure the thickness of layers on the sub-micrometric scale for the first time.
A device has been designed based on the diffraction that will permit to analyze in an objective and quick form, the quality of ophthalmic lenses. This device situated in the line of production will improve the process of fabrication.
The device is based on the phenomenon of the diffraction that takes place in the defects when impacting the light of the laser. The device consists of an optical system, in charge of driving the light of the laser, under good conditions, on the lens to analyze, a sensor, adapted to the wavelength of the laser, that detects the presence of the defect through the produced diffraction and a mechanism in which the lens to inspect is located assures that the laser sweeps the whole surface of the lens. A control system connected to the previous systems regulates the whole process
The image obtained can be used to analyze and characterize the type of defect. Using image processing we segment the images in order to classify the defects that appear in the surface of the lens.
In optical design is desirable that simulation and experimental set-up are as close as possible. We have developed our environment to simulate and to model complex optical systems (ROSA), which could contain non-optical elements. This environment is a robust tool for simulation, analysis and optimization of complex optical systems with an easy custom modeling by designer. ROSA has four basic ideas: geometrical description of the elements involved, electromagnetic ray description, free-full modeling by designer of geometrical and optical descriptions, and the possibility to use source structure. These concepts allows to consider non-optics elements in the simulation process and to follow the flux propagation around the optical system. With this tool it is possible to obtain this flux and different kind of information at every point of the optical system. In this work, we present this tool and also some simulation examples. In those examples we have obtained dray tracing taking into account multiple reflections, energetic distribution at different wave lengths, and the photometric distribution of a light source.
The surface metrology market today is moving towards non- contact modular computer-controlled systems for measuring and analyzing roughness, contour and topography. Since most of these systems require a great accessibility to the surface to be measured they can not be used for the metrology of surfaces with intricate geometries, difficult access and small dimensions. In this paper a new instrument concept for measuring the profiles of such difficult-to- access surfaces is demonstrated. Two different prototypes based on the confocal microscopy arrangement have been developed. A visible laser beam is focused with a high numerical aperture optical system onto the component surface that has to be measured. Depending on the prototype configuration, either the retroscattered or the reflected light signals are measured with a CCD array and analyzed with an image data processing algorithm. As an example of the application of these confocal prototypes, over 20 diamond wiring dies with different sizes and geometries have been measured and their inner profiles displayed and analyzed. All the results obtained show that the measurement method is robust enough to provide sub-micron repeatability and in the worst case the precision achieved is one order to magnitude better than the manufacturing tolerances of wiring dies.
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