Review of surface profile measurement techniques based on optical interferometry

•Optical interferometric profilometry have been used widely for good properties.•A review on profile interferometric measurement techniques is introduced with a classification.•Typical designs are selected to be examples with figures.

With the fast development of modern science and technology, two or three-dimensional surface profile measurement techniques with high resolution and large dynamic range are urgently required. Among them, the techniques based on optical interferometry have been widely used for their good properties of non-contact, high resolution, large dynamic measurement range and well-defined traceability route to the definition of meter. A review focused on surface profile measurement techniques of optical interferometry is introduced in this paper with a detailed classification sorted by operating principles. Examples in each category are discussed and analyzed for better understanding.