Comparison of fractal and profilometric methods for surface topography characterization

In this study microstructural and roughness characterization of surface of aluminium foils used in lithographic printing process was performed by contact and non-contact profilometric methods and fractal analysis. Significant differences in roughness parameters values inferred from stylus method in respect to those inferred from the non-contact measurements were observed. The investigation of correlation between various fractal dimensions obtained from gray-scale SEM micrographs and binary images resulting from median filtering of the original SEM micrographs as well as selected relevant roughness parameters shows that there is a strong correlation between certain roughness parameters and particular fractal dimensions. This correlations permit better physical understanding of fractal characteristics and interpretation of the dynamics of surface roughness change through processing. Generally these correlations are more suitable for parameters obtained by stylus method than those inferred from the laser-based measurements.