Chromatic confocal microscopy with a novel wavelength detection method using transmittance

Chromatic confocal microscopy (CCM) is a promising technology that enables high-speed three-dimensional surface profiling without mechanical depth scanning. However, the spectrometer, which measures depth information encoded by axial color, limits the speed of three-dimensional imaging. We present a novel method for chromatic confocal microscopy with transmittance detection. Depth information can be instantaneously obtained by the ratio of intensity signals from two photomultiplier tubes by detecting a peak wavelength using transmittance of a color filter. This non-destructive and high-speed surface profiling method might be useful in many fields, including the semiconductor and flat panel display industries, and in material science.