TECHNOLOGY NEWS: QUALITY CONTROL
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A thin-film measurement system from Mikropack GmbH (Ostfildern, Germany) can achieve a spatial resolution of 1 µm when used with a microscope.
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Nondestructive thin-film measurement technology uses broad-spectrum light to assess the thickness and integrity of transparent films and foils. Suited for medical applications such as stents, prosthetics, and orthopaedic implants, the NanoCalc-2000 from Mikropack (Ostfildern, Germany) is capable of measuring optical and nonoptical films with thicknesses ranging from approximately 10 nm to 400 µm while providing a spatial resolution of 0.1 nm. When used in conjunction with a microscope, the system can achieve a resolution as low as 1 µm. The machine is capable of measuring three films simultaneously when the layers are at least partially transparent and the material parameters are input using the software included with the unit.
The device is also suitable for measuring coatings on substrates with rough surfaces such as steel, ceramic, and plastic. Coatings on such substrates as well as nonoptical coatings such as diamondlike carbon on metal often yield surfaces with interface roughness, poor layer transparency, and weak bottom surface reflection. To address the resulting complex surface geometries, Mikropack has introduced roughness simulation algorithms and a range of fibre-optic-coupled interface adaptors to facilitate measuring uneven thin films. As a result of these developments, the unit can compensate automatically for rough surfaces while simultaneously measuring layer thickness.
In addition, the operating software included with the system can model interface roughness based on expected and actual reflectance amplitudes of known material interfaces. The software also includes a database of refractive index and extinction coefficient values for commonly used metallic, dielectric, amorphous, and crystalline substrates. Additional materials data can be added to the index using equation and dispersion formulas.
A range of accessories are available for use with the system including software that supports on-line data acquisition and ActiveX remote control. Additionally, an optional flexible optical probe assembly enables on-line and in situ measurements, and a 16-channel multiplexer can be used to measure up to eight individual fixed fibre positions in less than 8 seconds.
