K.C. Ang

Screening of characterisation technologies for complex rough surfaces

This paper screens the available technologies for complex rough surface (CRS) characterisations. The surfaces, produced by Electron Beam direct writing method, are extraordinarily rough, irregular and consist of closely-packed repeated features of sizes between 50 µm and 10 mm in the x, y and z directions. The technologies evaluated include light based optical systems, X-rays tomography, non-optical stereo microscopy and infrared thermography. Qualitative and quantitative individual and feature array descriptions are used to evaluate each technology. Parameters such as vertical measuring range, spatial and vertical resolutions and angular tolerance of measurement systems, are discussed for determining optimum conditions for CRS assessment.