Patent ID: 7518733
Filing Date: 2009-04-14
Classification: G01B

Abstract:
1. Surface profiling apparatus for obtaining surface profile data for a sample surface, the apparatus comprising: a light director operable to direct light from a light source along a sample path towards the sample surface and along a reference path towards a reference surface such that light reflected by the sample surface and light reflected by the reference surface interfere; a mover to move at least one of the sample surface along the sample path or the reference surface along the reference path to effect relative movement between the sample surface and the reference surface along a measurement path; a sensor to sense light intensity resulting from interference between light reflected from the reference surface and regions of the sample surface, the sensor includes a plurality of pixels, each pixel arranged in the sensor to provide a light intensity data value representing the light intensity associated with a corresponding one of the regions of the sample surface, the sensor adapted to sense sets of light intensity data, each set of light intensity data being one frame of light intensity data sensed at one interval along the measurement path and comprising a plurality of the light intensity data values, such that each light intensity data value in the set of light intensity data represents the light intensity sensed by at least one corresponding pixel of the sensor; a data processor to process the sets of light intensity data to determine from the light intensity data values associated with each sensed region a position along the measurement path at which a predetermined feature occurs in light intensity data for that sensed region; and a surface profiler to determine from the positions at which the predetermined feature occurs in the light intensity data for the different sensed regions the relative surface heights of the different sensed regions to provide a surface profile, the apparatus further comprising an image enhancer to enhance image data representing one set of light intensity data to be displayed on a display to facilitate the detection by a user of the interference fringes, the image enhancer comprising at least one of: