System and Method for Controlling a Beam Source in a Workpiece Surface Inspection System

A surface inspection system for inspecting a surface of a workpiece, the surface inspection system comprising:

• an illumination subsystem that projects a beam to the surface of the workpiece, the beam comprising a collimated portion and a non-collimated portion, the illumination subsystem comprising an absorber for absorbing the non-collimated portion of the beam;
• a collection subsystem for collecting scattered portions of the beam scattered from the surface of the workpiece;
• a processing subsystem operatively coupled to the collection subsystem for processing signals received from the collection subsystem to provide information about the surface of the workpiece.

A surface inspection system for inspecting a surface of a workpiece, the surface inspection system comprising:

• an illumination subsystem that projects a beam to the surface of the workpiece, the illumination subsystem comprising a plurality of lenses, each of the lenses having a known surface roughness, the plurality of lenses having a total surface roughness that does not exceed a selected amount;
• a collection subsystem for collecting scattered portions of the beam scattered from the surface of the workpiece, and
• a processing subsystem operatively coupled to the collection subsystem for processing signals received from the collection subsystem to provide information about the surface of the workpiece.

A surface inspection system for inspecting a surface of a workpiece, the surface inspection system comprising:

• an illumination subsystem that projects an optical beam to the surface of the workpiece, the optical beam comprising a collimated portion and a non-collimated portion, the illumination subsystem comprising a beam scan absorbing system for absorbing the non-collimated portion of the optical beam;
• a collection subsystem for collecting reflected light and scattered light formed by the impinging of the optical beam on the surface of the workpiece;
• a processing subsystem operatively coupled to the collection subsystem for processing signals received from the collection subsystem to provide information about the surface of the workpiece.