PRECISION METROLOGY FOR STUDYING THIN-FILMS AND SURFACES

Evaluation techniques that are appropriate for characterizing the surface topography of optical thin films and surfaces are briefly described. These include microscopes ranging from low power optical microscopes to scanning probe microscopes that can measure topography of individual atoms or groups of atoms, optical non-contact and mechanical contact profilers, some of which can give topographic maps of surface areas, and total integrated scattering and angle-resolved scattering that yield statistical properties of surfaces. Theories are needed to relate scattering to surface topography; these are valid only for certain types of topographies. Examples are given showing how various surface evaluation techniques can be applied to selected surfaces.