3D Non-Contact Profilometer

NANOVEA Optical Profiler is a 3D, non-contact profilometer designed with Chromatic Confocal technology, which uses wavelengths of light to accurately determine physical height. The Optical Profilers NANOVEA offers include compact, stand-alone and portable profilometer models. High-speed sensors are available to scan large surface at high accuracy.

With a single profilometer scan, a wide range of measurements can be obtained such as 3D waviness, roughness, step height and/or film thickness to advanced fractal analysis and microstructure/particle characterization.

Chromatic Confocal technology uses white light that passes through a series of lenses with high degree of chromatic aberrations. Each wavelength will focus at a different distance creating the vertical measurement range. When a surface of interest is within that range a single wavelength of the white light will be in focus while all others will be out of focus. Only the focused wavelength will pass through the pin hole filter to reach the CCD spectrometer. The physical wavelength measured corresponds to a vertical position.

Profilometry - Chromatic Confocal Sensor Technology
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NANOVEA OPTICAL PROFILOMETER MODELS

Portable Compact Profilometer JR25

Portable

Compact

Portable High Speed Profilometer JR100

Portable

High Speed

Best Profilometer ST400

Modular

Standard

Modular High Speed Profilometer ST500

Modular

Large area

Not sure which profilometer you need? Compare the range in our buyer’s guide

2D & 3D NON-CONTACT PROFILOMETRY

Surface roughness and surface finish
ROUGHNESS & FINISH
surface texture and surface grain
TEXTURE & GRAIN
Surface Geometry and Surface Shape
GEOMETRY & SHAPE
Surface Step Height and Coating Thickness
STEP HEIGHT & THICKNESS
Surface subtraction and volume lost
VOLUME & AREA
Surface flatness and surface warpage
FLATNESS & WARPAGE

APPLICATIONS & INDUSTRIES

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What is a profilometer?

A profilometer is an instrument that measures the height of a surface, along a line (a 2D profile) or over an area (a 3D map), to quantify its roughness, texture, form, step heights, flatness and volume. Contact, or stylus, profilometers trace the surface with a diamond tip. Optical profilometers, also called optical profilers, measure it with light, without touching it.

Every NANOVEA profilometer is a non-contact 3D optical profilometer built on white light chromatic confocal sensors. Each wavelength of white light focuses at a different height, and the wavelength in focus gives the height of each point directly. The same sensors measure transparent, reflective, dark and steep surfaces, up to 87°, with a maximum vertical resolution of 1 nm, and they scan large areas continuously, without stitching.

Types of profilometers

All profilometers record surface heights, but the way they sense the surface decides what they can measure. The surface roughness measurement guide compares them in more detail.

  • Stylus (contact) profilometer. A diamond stylus is dragged across the surface. Established and inexpensive, but slow for 3D maps; it can mark soft or fragile surfaces and cannot resolve features narrower than its tip.
  • White light interferometry. Very high height resolution on smooth surfaces, strong for steps in microelectronics. Its field of view is limited, larger areas need stitching, and it is sensitive to vibration and to surfaces that reflect little light.
  • Laser triangulation. Fast and suited to rough surfaces and larger parts; accuracy depends on the material and on steep features hiding the spot.
  • Focus variation and confocal microscopy. Build the surface from focus planes or optical sections. Fast over small fields and good on slopes, with larger areas stitched; focus variation needs surface texture to find focus.
  • White light chromatic confocal. Reads height from the wavelength in focus, on any material, including transparent, dark and steep surfaces, and scans large areas continuously. This is the technology of every NANOVEA profilometer.
  • Atomic force microscopy (AFM). The best lateral resolution of all, over areas of tens of micrometres, for polished and nanostructured surfaces. NANOVEA's AFM Pro combines it with an optical profiler.

Optical profilometer vs stylus profilometer

A stylus profilometer touches the surface, so its result depends on the tip radius and the contact force, and soft, sticky or delicate materials can be scratched or deformed. An optical profilometer measures without contact: nothing wears, nothing marks the sample, and a full 3D map is practical, which is what areal roughness parameters (ISO 25178) need.

Chromatic confocal sensors keep the strengths of the stylus that other optical methods lose: they measure rough, steep and reflective surfaces alike and do not depend on a reconstruction algorithm. Height is read directly, point by point, on metals, polymers, glass, coatings and biological materials.

How a chromatic confocal profilometer works

White light passes through a lens with strong chromatic aberration, so each wavelength comes to focus at a different distance. Only the wavelength focused exactly on the surface returns sharply through a pinhole to a spectrometer, and that wavelength gives the height. Point sensors measure one point at a time; NANOVEA's line sensors measure 192 points at once, at up to 384,000 points per second. The chromatic confocal page explains the principle in full.

NANOVEA optical profilometers compared

All models use the same chromatic confocal sensors, so a method developed on one transfers to the others. The choice comes down to sample size, where the measurement happens and how fast it must be. For a step-by-step choice, see Which profilometer do I need?

ModelTypeScan area and speedSensorsBest for
PS50Compact benchtop50 x 50 mm motorized stage, 20 mm/sPoint sensors PS1 to PS6Small samples and a compact laboratory bench
JR25Portable, 5.3 kg25 x 25 mm, 20 mm/s, rotatory scanning headPoint sensors PS1 to PS6On-site measurement of parts and structures that cannot be moved, including angled surfaces
JR100Portable high speed, 17 kg100 x 100 mm, 100 mm continuous scans without stitchingPoint sensors, or a line sensor at up to 384,000 points/s (JR100L)Large areas in the field or beside the production line
ST400Modular benchtop200 x 150 mm motorized stage, 40 mm/s, up to 190 mm sample heightPoint (PS1 to PS6) and high-speed line (LS1 to LS3)The standard laboratory system for research and quality control, with rotational and cylinder options
ST500Large area400 x 400 mm motorized stage, 200 mm/s, 400 mm continuous scansPoint (PS1 to PS6) and high-speed line (LS1 to LS3)Large parts, many samples at once and automated quality control
AFM ProOptical profiler + AFM + video microscope200 x 150 mm optical stage; AFM scans 110 µm with 1.7 nm lateral resolutionPoint and line sensors plus an atomic force microscopeNanoscale roughness and large-area maps on one platform
In-line profilerProduction line integrationTriggered or continuous inspection, more than 1,300,000 points/sSeveral chromatic sensors, Pass & Fail per sensor or on their average100% surface inspection during production

Chromatic confocal sensor specifications

Standard chromatic sensors (single point)

SpecificationPS1PS2PS3PS4PS5PS6
Max height range110 µm300 µm1.1 mm3.5 mm10 mm24 mm
Working distance3.3 mm10.8 mm12.2 mm16.5 mm26.6 mm20 mm
Lateral X-Y accuracy0.8 µm1.7 µm2.6 µm4.6 µm11.0 µm11.0 µm
Height repeatability1.9 nm5.4 nm15.8 nm31.6 nm117.0 nm237.2 nm

Height repeatability: fixed point measurement on glass, Ra average height variation for 1,200 points (100 samplings).

High-speed chromatic line sensors (192 points)

SpecificationLS1LS2LS3
Max height range200 µm0.95 mm3.9 mm
Working distance5.3 mm18.5 mm41 mm
Height repeatability (Ra)14 nm21 nm70 nm
Line width0.96 mm1.91 mm4.78 mm
Pitch5 µm10 µm25 µm
Lateral accuracy of each point1 µm2 µm5 µm
Acquisition rate384 kHz384 kHz384 kHz

Height repeatability: fixed point measurement on glass, Ra average height variation for 1,200 points (100 samplings).

What NANOVEA profilometers measure

Standards

  • ISO 25178
  • ISO 4287
  • ISO 13565
  • ISO 12085
  • ISO 12780
  • ISO 12781
  • ISO 12181

Profilometers: frequently asked questions

What does a profilometer measure?

Surface height, from which it calculates roughness (Ra, Rz, Sa, Sq), texture, form and dimensions, step heights and film thickness, volume and surface area, and flatness. A 2D profilometer measures along a line; a 3D profilometer maps an area.

What is the difference between an optical profiler and an optical profilometer?

None: both names describe the same non-contact instrument, which measures surface topography with light. 3D optical profiler, non-contact profilometer and 3D surface profilometer are other names for it.

Is an optical profilometer better than a stylus profilometer?

For most needs, yes: it does not touch or mark the sample, it maps areas quickly enough for ISO 25178 areal parameters, and it measures soft, sticky and delicate materials. A stylus remains common for 2D roughness checks where a specification calls for one. See surface roughness measurement for a full comparison.

How accurate is a 3D optical profilometer?

NANOVEA's chromatic confocal sensors reach a maximum vertical resolution of 1 nm, with height repeatability from 1.9 nm on the finest point sensor (PS1, 110 µm range) to 237.2 nm on the 24 mm range sensor (PS6). Choose the sensor whose range just covers the surface's height variation.

Can a profilometer measure transparent, reflective or dark surfaces?

A chromatic confocal profilometer can: it reads the wavelength in focus rather than the amount of light returned, so glass, polished metal, dark materials and transparent films are measured without preparation, on slopes up to 87°. Through a transparent layer it can also measure the layer's thickness.

Do I need a portable or a benchtop profilometer?

Bring the sample to a benchtop system (PS50, ST400, ST500) when it can be cut or moved; take a portable one (JR25, JR100) to parts, assemblies or structures that cannot. Which profilometer do I need? walks through the choice.

How much does a profilometer cost?

It depends on the base, the sensors and the options, since every NANOVEA profilometer is built to order for its application. Ask for a quote with a description of your samples, or send samples to the laboratory first to confirm the measurement.

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Portable high speed profilometer JR100