Patent · US Active

Surface profile measurement

US7834985B2 · kind B2 · utility

43Cited by
3References
16Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateDec 2, 2005
Grant dateNov 16, 2010
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 20, 2027

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01S17/89
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An imaging system has a transmission system (2) for transmitting a modulated optical signal and a reception system (3) for receiving a received optical signal which is a reflected and delayed version of the transmitted signal. The reception system includes a controllable shutter arrangement for allowing reception in a controllable time window. A memory (4) collects reception data derived from different time windows, and a measure of distance is obtained corresponding to a maximum correlation between the received optical signal and the timing of the controllable time window. Surface profile information is derived from multiple distance measurements.The shutter arrangement enables the distance measurement (and the subsequent profile calculation) to be free from noise from other scattering sources.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.