Patent ID: 8520216
Filing Date: 2013-08-27
Classification: G01B

Abstract:
1. A shape measuring apparatus comprising: a light source having a wideband spectrum; an optical system configured to guide the light from the light source to an object to be measured and a reference face, configured to combine the light reflected from the object to be measured and the light reflected from the reference face, and configured to generate an interfering light intensity distribution image indicating interfering light intensity that corresponds to each measurement position inside the measuring face of the object to be measured and changes depending on the difference between a first optical path length from the light source to the object to be measured and a second optical path length from the light source to the reference face; an imaging unit configured to image the interfering light intensity distribution image output from the optical system; an optical path length difference changing unit configured to change the optical path length difference between the first optical path length and the second optical path length; an image storing unit configured to sequentially store interfering light intensity distribution images that are imaged using the imaging unit and changed depending on the change in the optical path length difference; and an arithmetic processing unit configured to obtain the peak value of an interfering light intensity sequence indicating the change in the interfering light intensity due to the change in the optical path length difference at each measurement position of the interfering light intensity distribution images stored in the image storing unit, and configured to obtain the peak value as the position in the direction of the optical axis at each measurement position of the object to be measured, the arithmetic processing unit including: