Microdeflectometry - a novel tool to acquire 3D microtopography with nanometer height resolution

TL;DR

Microdeflectometry is a new technique for high-resolution 3D surface measurement that captures local slopes with nanometer height precision, enabling detailed microtopography analysis.

Contribution

The paper introduces microdeflectometry, a novel method measuring surface slopes for nanometer-scale height resolution, enhancing microtopography imaging capabilities.

Findings

Lateral resolution better than one micron

Height resolution in the range of one nanometer

Potential for quantitative 3D imaging with SEM-like features

Abstract

We introduce "microdeflectometry", a novel technique for measuring the microtopography of specular surfaces. The primary data is the local slope of the surface under test. Measuring the slope instead of the height implies high information efficiency and extreme sensitivity to local shape irregularities. The lateral resolution can be better than one micron whereas the resulting height resolution is in the range of one nanometer. Microdeflectometry can be supplemented by methods to expand the depth of field, with the potential to provide quantitative 3D imaging with SEM-like features.