Optical interferometer for 3D surface characterisation with sub-nanometer depth resolution

The promoters of this projects have build up a large expertise in fabrication technologies at the micrometer and nanometer scale, based on precision mechanics as well as on lithographic techniques. Our labs have recently been centralised in the new KULeuven Corelab buildings, creating a multidisciplinary research environment. There, we work on our core applications in electron devices, medical implants, chip-scale mechanical sensors and actuators, high speed microturbines etc. We make our expertise and equipment available to other groups interested in working at the small scale as well. This has resulted in a broad range of projects that go well beyond our own expertise, covering topics such as labs-on-chip, microfluidics, experimental physics, hydrogen producing solar cells and micro-optics.A missing piece in our labs is a tool to quickly make a very accurate 3D scan of the structures fabricated, which is needed in micro- and nanoscale fabrication process research but also could be very useful in certain other experiments. A white light interferometry setup would be most useful for this purpose.

Keywords:interferometer

Disciplines:Modelling, Multimedia processing