A device and method for measuring a surface of an object, including at least one light source, at least one optical sensor, and an interferometry device having a measurement arm and a reference arm, the former directing light from each light source towards the surface of the object and directing light from the surface towards each optical sensor; the measurement device, in an interferometry configuration, illuminating the reference arm and the measurement arm with each light source and directing the light from the measurement arm and the reference arm towards each optical sensor to form an interference signal; the measurement device, in an imaging configuration illuminating at least the measurement arm and directing the light from the measurement arm towards the optical sensor to form an image of the surface; the measurement device including a digital processor producing, from the interference signal and the image, information on the surface.

An operation accuracy measuring method for measuring the operation accuracy of a linear motion mechanism includes the steps of placing on a support table a measuring jig having a flat lower surface, a parallel surface opposite and parallel to the lower surface, and a slanted surface joined to the parallel surface through a straight boundary line, adjusting the position of the measuring jig to allow the white light interferometer to observe the parallel surface and the slanted surface simultaneously, capturing images of the parallel surface and the slanted surface with the white light interferometer and observing changes in interference fringes appearing in image sections of the captured images that represent the parallel surface and the slanted surface while the support table is being linearly moved, and the step of deducing the operation accuracy of the linear motion mechanism on the basis of the observed changes in the interference fringes.

Described herein are methods, systems, and non-transitory computer-readable media to non-destructively acquire three-dimensional profiles of cellular microbiological samples growing on the surface of a solid growth medium. Acquisitions can be performed by an optical microscope that includes a vertical scanning interferometer. The three-dimensional profiles can enable measurement of sample parameters of microcolonies, which can be made of microbial colony forming units. The methods and systems enable early and rapid detection and quantification of microbes.

A measuring device (10) for the interferometric shape measurement of a surface (12) of a test object (14-1; 14-2)includes (i) a diffractive optical element (26-1; 26-2) that generates a test wave (28) from incoming measurement radiation (18), wherein the diffractive optical element radiates the test wave onto the surface of the test object, (ii) a deflection element (22) that is disposed upstream of the diffractive optical element in the beam path of the measurement radiation, and (iii) a holding device (24, 124) that holds the deflection element and that changes a position of the deflection element (22) through a combination of a tilting movement and a translation movement.

A method of improving axial resolution of interferometric measurements of a 3D feature of a sample may comprise illuminating the feature using a first limited number of successively different wavelengths of light at a time; generating an image of at least the 3D feature based on intensities of light reflected from the feature at each of the successively different wavelengths of light; measuring a fringe pattern of intensity values for each corresponding pixel of the generated images; resampling the measured fringe patterns as k-space interferograms; estimating interference fringe patterns for a spectral range that is longer than available from the generated images using the k-space interferograms; appending the estimated interference fringe patterns to the respective measured fringe patterns; and measuring the height or depth of the 3D feature using the measured interference fringe patterns and appended estimated fringe patterns.

Disclosed is a non-contact optical measurement device for detecting or measuring different geometric workpiece features based on configurable light-propagation paths of light emitted from a light source and reflected by a workpiece surface for incidence upon a spectral sensor. The light-propagation paths are configurable based on which optical probe is attached to a rotation stage that rotates the probe about an optical axis and in a collimated region.

A surface profile inspection method and a surface profile inspection system are provided. The surface profile inspection method includes capturing a plurality of interferograms of a surface profile depicting interference between a specimen beam reflected from a surface having the surface profile and a modulated reference beam, wherein each of the plurality of interferograms corresponds to a phase of modulation of the modulated reference beam; extracting pixel values of the plurality of interferograms; calculating phase information of each of the plurality of interferograms based on the extracted pixel values, the phase information of each of the plurality of interferograms related to the phase of modulation of the modulated reference beam at a time the interferogram was captured; and reconstructing the surface profile based on the calculated phase information.

A 3-D imaging system including a computer determining a plurality of coherence factors measuring an intensity contrast between a first intensity of a first region of an interference comprising constructive interference between a sample wavefront and a reference wavefront, and a second intensity of a second region of the interference comprising destructive interference between the sample wavefront and the reference wavefront, wherein the interference between a reference wavefront and a reflection from different locations on a surface of an object. From the coherence factors, the computer determines height data comprising heights of the surface with respect to an x-y plane perpendicular to the heights and as a function of the locations in the x-y plane. The height data is useful for generating a three dimensional topological image of the surface.

A measurement device, for measuring the shape of an interface to be measured of an optical element having a plurality of interfaces, the device including: measurement apparatus with at least one interferometric sensor illuminated by a low-coherence source, for directing a measurement beam towards the optical element to pass through the plurality of interfaces, and to detect an interference signal resulting from interferences between the measured measurement beam reflected by the interface and a reference beam; positioning apparatus configured for relative positioning of a coherence area of the interferometric sensor at the level of the interface to be measured; digital processor for producing, based on the interference signal, an item of shape information of the interface to be measured according to a field of view.

A measurement method, for measuring the shape of an interface of an optical element having a plurality of interfaces is also provided.

Translations of an object in a plurality of different spatial directions are measured using a plurality of interferometers to detect interference with light that has been reflected from a diffusively reflective surface, preferably using diffuse reflection from the same planar surface to measure in each of the different spatial directions. At least the interferometers that measure translation in directions that are not perpendicular to the surface each comprises a single mode fiber and a collimator configured to transmit the outgoing light to the object successively through the single mode fiber and the collimator, and to collect reflection into the single mode fiber with the collimator both along a same beam direction. It has been found that, when reflection of a beam with a beam direction at an oblique angle to a diffusively reflective surface is used, the interference resulting from translation of the object is due substantially only to translation in the beam direction.