Faraz Arastu

White light interferometry is an optical measurement technique that uses superposition patterns
of electromagnetic waves to measure distances with high accuracy. The experimental setups can
vary widely, but all share features of the classical Michelson interferometer.

Y
X Z

Fig. 1: Schematic of a Michelson Interferometer [1]

In the experimental setup shown in Fig. 1, an incoherent white light source shines on a beam-
splitter, where nearly half the beam is reflected and the other half is transmitted. The transmitted
beam hits a reference mirror while the reflected beam hits the sample. The light from the sample
and the mirror are reflected back toward the beam splitter and interfere only when their optical
path lengths are less than the coherence length of the light source. The reference mirror is then
moved by a precisely controlled positioning stage to vary the optical path and create an
interferogram at discrete z intervals corresponding to the coherence length of the white
light source.

In practice, the interferometer setup shown is integrated into an optical microscope for increased
lateral resolution and control over the field-of-view of the sample of interest. The interferograms
produced by translating the reference stage are typically detected by a CCD camera, and each set
of z-coordinates obtained from the interference measurement are combined with lateral
coordinates from the microscope to reproduce a topographic map of the sample.

The z-resolution is largely determined by the coherence length of the white light source, which is
on the order of 10-10 m, making this a highly sensitive measurement of sample topography. The
lateral resolution is diffraction-limited, on the order of 10-6 m, since it is subject to conventional
microscope optics. It is also worth noting that this is a contact-free measurement technique since
the depth probe is simply white light. Furthermore, digital processing techniques can compensate
for both specular and diffuse reflection, making it possible to analyze virtually any material that
reflects light.

White light interferometry has been previously demonstrated in measuring several different
classes of materials. For example, the RMS roughness of aerosolized lactose particles has been
determined as a model for characterizing inhalation drugs [2]. Others have used this technique to
study the surface morphology of polymer membranes for reverse osmosis [3], gold electrodes for
scanning probe tips [4], and diffraction gratings formed by protein self-assembly [5]. A
representative topographic map is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2: Measured depth profile of a reflectin-based diffraction grating [5]

If it was incorporated into Chem 588, white light interferometry (WLI) would add to the
capabilities of surface measurement methods. Since it is an entirely contact-free measurement,
WLI has advantages over AFM. It does not suffer from tip-related artifacts and can be used to
probe larger depths and wider sample areas. Because it uses a white light probe, WLI can be
operated in ambient conditions, making it easy to study in situ morphological changes that are
difficult to do with AFM or SEM. In addition to the applications that were previously discussed,
WLI can be used to study catalysis, wetting processes, porosity, and surface roughness all
topics of interest in materials analysis.

References
[1] J. Hailing, Encyclopedia of tribology, vol. 150, no. 12. 1991.
[2] S. Adi et al., Langmuir, vol. 24, no. 19, pp. 1130711312, 2008.
[3] I. Koyuncu, J. Brant, A. Lttge, and M. R. Wiesner, J. Memb. Sci., vol. 278, no. 12, pp. 410417, 2006.
[4] J. Chang, K. C. Leonard, S. K. Cho, and A. J. Bard, Anal. Chem., vol. 84, no. 11, pp. 51595163, 2012.
[5] R. M. Kramer, W. J. Crookes-Goodson, and R. R. Naik, Nat. Mater., vol. 6, pp. 533538, 2007.