Optical Coherence Tomography – A Potential Tool for Roughness Assessment of Free and Embedded Surfaces of Laser-Machined Alumina Ceramic

Abstract

For an emerging market a mass and cost-effective production of non-silicon micro devices requires an inprocess and accurate 3D monitoring to assure the quality. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) providing highresolution contactless imaging is used to inspect the surface quality of a laser-machined alumina ceramic layer. Quantitatively the root mean square (rms) roughness is measured by traditional means and provides input parameters to the Monte Carlo simulation of OCT method. We found that the quality of both free and embedded surfaces of the highly-scattering alumina ceramic material can be evaluated by OCT.