Development of Touch Probing System Using a Fiber Stylus

Abstract

This paper presents a system that can be used for micro-hole measurement; the system comprises an optical fiber stylus that is 5 µm in diameter. The stylus deflects when it comes into contact with the measured surface; this deflection is measured optically. In this study, the design parameters of the optical system are determined using a ray-tracing method, and a prototype of the probing system is fabricated to verify ray-tracing simulation results; furthermore, the performance of the system is evaluated experimentally. The results show that the design parameters of this system can be determined using ray-tracing; the resolution of the measurement system using this shaft was approximately 3 nm, and the practicality of this system was confirmed by measuring the shape of a micro-hole 100 µm in diameter and 475 µm in depth.

Development of measurement system for microstructures using an optical fiber probe: improvement of measurable region and depth

“…The diameter of the stylus tip ranges from 1 to several 100 µm. We confirmed that the deformation of the stylus shaft with a diameter of 0.4 µm [34] and 3 µm [32] could be detected before. The measurement resolution was about 5 nm [32,34].…”

“…We confirmed that the deformation of the stylus shaft with a diameter of 0.4 µm [34] and 3 µm [32] could be detected before. The measurement resolution was about 5 nm [32,34]. However, it is necessary to calibrate the measurement sensitivity when the stylus is replaced, because the measurement sensitivity changes depending on the diameter of the stylus shaft [32,34].…”

“…The measurement system, placed in a vacuum vessel, was optimally constructed for preventing the adhesion of the stylus tip to the measured surface caused by the surface force [31]. The optical analysis was conducted by considering the effect of the laser beam size [32]. We fabricated a small-diameter stylus tip using an adhesive, arc discharge and a CO 2 laser [33].…”

Surface-Sensing Principle of Microprobe System for Micro-Scale Coordinate Metrology: A Review

“…Thus, the hinge-typed microprobe system can perform various functions by combining MEMS and semiconductor technologies and developing a hinge mechanism. The use of the optical fiber has been proposed as a different approach [101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113]. Figure 5 shows some of the examples.…”

“…For using an optical fiber, the contact of the probe tip to the measured surface is detected by measuring the deflection of the optical fiber stem using the optical method; furthermore, high resolutions are expected for this detection. The probe deflection can be measured with high resolution; however, the reproducibility of detection is difficult to The use of the optical fiber has been proposed as a different approach [101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113]. Figure 5 shows some of the examples.…”