Surface Metrology

Fractal characterization of the anisotropy of rough surfaces – T.R. Thomas, B. G. Rosen and N. Amini

Existing techniques for measuring and characterising anisotropy are discussed. The advantages are suggested in treating anisotropic surfaces as self-affine fractals, characterised by two parameters, the fractal dimension and the topothesy. These parameters are conveniently determined experimentally by measuring the slope and intercept of a logarithmic plot of the structure function. A 3D version of the…

Read More Fractal characterization of the anisotropy of rough surfaces – T.R. Thomas, B. G. Rosen and N. Amini
Characterization of surface roughness – T.R. Thomas

Abstract Proliferation of redundant parameters for characterizing surface roughness is explained as a historical consequence of the predominant influence of instrument manufacturers over users. Problems of roughness characterization are introduced: high and low-pass filtering, transitional topographies, sampling error. The needs of three classes of user, the machinist, the researcher and the quality control engineer, are…

Read More Characterization of surface roughness – T.R. Thomas
Variation of roughness parameters onsome typical manufactured surfaces – T.R. Thomas and G. Charlton

Abstract A number of specimen surfaces, including machined surfaces and calibration standards, are examined by a stylus instrument on-line to a microcomputer. For each measuement on each specimen 14 roughness parameters are computed for each of 10 profiles, and the mean and standard deviation of each parameter is calculated. Variations of up to 15% are…

Read More Variation of roughness parameters onsome typical manufactured surfaces – T.R. Thomas and G. Charlton
Parameters for characterizing the surface topography of engineering components – I. Sherrington and E.H. Smith

Profile measurements of the surface topography of engineering components are often used in attempts to assess the functional suitability of surfaces. This paper reviews the definitions and properties of a large number of parameters which are used to characterize measurements of this type.

Read More Parameters for characterizing the surface topography of engineering components – I. Sherrington and E.H. Smith
A knowledge-based system for selection of surface texture parameters: a preliminary investigation NAB. Rao and Jay Raja

Abstract The use of microcomputers for processing surface profiles from stylus instruments has resultedin the availability of a great deal of information. However, a functional databank does not existyet to assist the designer in the selection of proper surface finishes for different applications. Theuse of computers for analyzing surface profiles has also resulted in a…

Read More A knowledge-based system for selection of surface texture parameters: a preliminary investigation NAB. Rao and Jay Raja
The parameter Rash – Is there a cure? – D. J. Whitehouse

Abstract In recent years there has been a proliferation of parameters with which to specify surface texture. Some of these parameters are useful, but most are not. The result of this rash is confusion and expense. In this paper the cause of the growth of such parameters is identified and ways of minimizing it are…

Read More The parameter Rash – Is there a cure? – D. J. Whitehouse
A comparative study of surface texture measurement using white light scanning interferometry and contact stylus techniques – B.D. Boudreau, J. Raja, H. Sannareddy and Paul Caber

The characterization of machined surfaces is becoming an increasingly important activity in todaysquality minded business environment. Historically, these surfaces would have been evaluated using a stylusinstrument but optical instruments are now becoming increasingly prevalent. One instrument, the whitelight vertical scanning interferometer, is even capable of performing a complete three-dimensionalevaluation in a single scan. This paper…

Read More A comparative study of surface texture measurement using white light scanning interferometry and contact stylus techniques – B.D. Boudreau, J. Raja, H. Sannareddy and Paul Caber
Surface profiles obtained by means of optical methods—are they true representations of the real surface? – W. Hillmann

Abstract The surface profile of the Well known surface of a PTB roughness standard has beenrecorded by several methods and the results have been compared. The result of the contactstylus method, in particular that using a very small tip radius, is in good conformity with thatdeduced from SEM stereo images. The optical methods, ie laser…

Read More Surface profiles obtained by means of optical methods—are they true representations of the real surface? – W. Hillmann
Optical scattering from rough surfaces: experiment and theory – T.V. Vorburger et al.

Read More Optical scattering from rough surfaces: experiment and theory – T.V. Vorburger et al.
Optical techniques for on-line measurement of surface topography – T.V. Vorburger and E.C. Teague

Abstract Optical techniques have great potential for non-destructive and on-line measurements of surface roughness during manufacturing. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art in a number of optical techniques including specular reflectance, total integrated scatter, diffuseness, angular scattering distributions, speckle, ellipsometry, and interferometry. The distinction is drawn between the more quantitative but slower profiling techniques and less…

Read More Optical techniques for on-line measurement of surface topography – T.V. Vorburger and E.C. Teague
Comparison of optical and stylus methods for measurement of surface texture -T. V. Vorburger et al.

Abstract Optical methods are increasingly used for measurement of surface texture, particularly for areal measurements where the optical methods are generally faster. A new Working Group under Technical Committee (TC) 213 in the International Organization for Standardization is addressing standardization issues for areal surface texture measurement and characterization and has formed a project team to…

Read More Comparison of optical and stylus methods for measurement of surface texture -T. V. Vorburger et al.
A review of selected topics in interferometric optical metrology – P. J. de Groot

Abstract This review gathers together 15 special topics in modern interferometric metrology representing a sampling of historical, current and future developments. The selected topics cover a wide range of applications, including distance and displacement measurement, the testing of optical components, interference microscopy for surface structure analysis, form and dimensional measurements of industrial parts, and recent…

Read More A review of selected topics in interferometric optical metrology – P. J. de Groot