Surface characterization in fabrication environments using angle resolved light scattering: From roughness and defect analysis to in-situ coating inspection

The performance of an optical component or surface might quicky be limited by light scattering induced by the surface and coating roughness, as well as imperfections and contaminations. On the other hand, the scattered light contains valuable information about its source, which makes scattering based techniques powerful characterization tools for these important features. A major advantage is the fast, robust, and contact free measurement approach enabling even close-to process applications. Based on several examples we demonstrate the potential of light scattering characterization during the fabrication process up to even in-situ coating inspection.