Surface profile and material mapper using a driver to displace the sample in X-Y-Z directions
US5371588A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 10, 1993 |
| Grant date | Dec 6, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 10, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01B2290/70
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention uses a heterodyne interferometer with coherent detection that uses a vibrating sample that can be used as a non-contact and non-destructive surface profiler and mapping apparatus where detailed profiles of the local slope and/or roughness of the vibrating sample are obtained in three dimensions. The invention can operate in either a heterodyne or homodyne regime with a probe that uses either i) focused optics, ii) a single mode optical fiber with an integral GRIN lens at its far end for focusing onto the sample or iii) a single-mode optical fiber with a taper at the end. Additionally, the heterodyne interferometry technique can be used for imaging birefringent objects such as semiconductor diagnostics of GaAs, InGaAs, InGaAsP, and other II-VI of III-V binary, ternary, and quaternary materials for analysis and diagnostics by using the birefringent properties of the object, and monitoring the electrical activity of biological cellular tissue.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.