A novel contact/non-contact hybrid measurement system for surface topography characterization

A novel surface profile measurement instrument, developed for the characterization of engineering surfaces, is presented. The instrument is of a hybrid type and is capable of contact and non-contact measurement, making it suitable for a wider range of applications. It has an optical displacement sensor and a stylus displacement sensor. For contact measurement, the vertical measurement range and resolution of the instrument are 1 mm and 10 nm, respectively. For non-contact measurement, they are 500 μm and 3 nm, respectively. The instrument has been successfully used for several forensic applications, demonstrating its unique flexibility and high reliability as a novel surface topography instrument.