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US 2007/0165242 A1Published application
Surface shape measurement apparatus and method
AssigneeQinetiq Limited
InventorsAndrew Scott, Andrew Lewin
Life of this patent
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AssigneeQinetiq Limited
InventorsAndrew Scott, Andrew Lewin
Estimating the term…
Apparatus for indicating the departure of a shape of an object (3; 11; 16; 18; 22; 26) from a specified shape is described. The apparatus comprises radiation means for directing an incident beam of radiation (4) onto the object, and inspecting means (5) for inspecting the final beam after transmission by or reflection from said object. The apparatus is arranged so that the final beam will have a substantially planar wavefront when said object has said specified shape, and said inspecting means (5) is arranged to determine any departure of the wavefront of the final beam from planarity. In one embodiment, the inspecting means comprises beamsplitting means, for example a diffraction grating (6) or hologram, and detector means such as a CCD camera (8). The beamsplitting means is then arranged to split the final beam into two or more beams and to direct said two or more beams to laterally displaced locations on the detector means.
Apparatus for indicating the departure of a shape of an object from a specified shape, the apparatus comprising radiation means for directing an incident beam of radiation onto the object, and inspecting means for inspecting the final beam after transmission by or reflection from said object, wherein the apparatus is arranged so that the final beam will have a substantially planar wavefront when said object has said specified shape, and said inspecting means is arranged to determine any departure of the wavefront of the final beam from planarity, characterised in that said inspecting means comprises beamsplitting means and detector means wherein the beamsplitting means is arranged to split the final beam into two or more beams and to direct said two or more beams to laterally displaced locations on the detector means.
Apparatus for indicating the departure of a shape of an object from a specified shape, the apparatus comprising radiation means for directing an incident beam of radiation onto the object, and inspecting means for inspecting the final beam after transmission by or reflection from said object, wherein the apparatus is arranged so that the final beam will have a substantially planar wavefront when said object has said specified shape, and said inspecting means is arranged to determine any departure of the wavefront of the final beam from planarity characterised in that said incident beam of radiation directed onto the object by the radiation means has a non-spherical wavefront.
A method of indicating the departure of a shape of an object from a specified shape, the method including the steps of directing an incident beam of radiation onto the object so that that a final beam following transmission by or reflection from said object would have a planar wavefront if the object has said specified shape, and inspecting the final beam for any departure of its wavefront from planarity characterised in that the step of inspecting final beam comprises the step of splitting the final beam into two or more beams and directing said two or more beams to laterally displaced locations on detector.
A method of indicating the departure of a shape of an object from a specified shape, the method including the steps of directing an incident beam of radiation onto the object so that that a final beam following transmission by or reflection from said object would have a planar wavefront if the object has said specified shape, and inspecting the final beam for any departure of its wavefront from planarity characterised in that the step of directing an incident beam of radiation onto the object comprises the step of directing a beam of radiation having a non-spherical wavefront.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.