Thank you for reading KEYENCE’s Introduction to

Introduction to
White Light Interferometry.
This document includes basic information on the

White Light
principles of white light interferometry, key points to
note for measurement, and measurement

Interferometry
examples.
We hope that this introductory document will help
answer any questions on this topic.

60.24 nm
Wafer micropattern (2500×)

INDEX 5–1 Measurement of uneven surfaces

1–1 White light interferometry
1–2 Benefits of using a white light interferometer
2–1 Cause of light interference
3–1 Interference stripes
3–2 Phase shift interferometry (PSI)
4–1 Reason for using white light as a light source
5–2 High-accuracy measurement even at low magnifications
6–1 Key points for white light interferometry
6–2 White light interferometry application examples
7–1 Feature comparison of various 3D measurement systems
8–1 Troublesome targets for white light interferometers
9–1 Laser confocal and focus variation principles
 Introduction to White Light Interferometry

A white light interferometer is a non-contact microscope used for measuring 3D shapes such as roughness and height differences with
nano-level accuracy. Other non-contact roughness and 3D measurement systems include focus variation optical microscopes, laser
microscopes, and laser scanning displacement sensors. Contact-type measurement systems include profilometers and atomic force
microscopes (AFM). This guide offers a detailed look at white light interferometers, including measurement examples and feature
comparisons with various other measuring systems.

1-1
White light interferometry
White light interferometry—the measuring principle of white light interferometers—is a
measurement method that obtains 3D height data through observation of light
interference patterns using an image sensor. Using an interference objective lens with
a built-in reference mirror, white light from an LED or other light source is used to Reference Objective
mirror lens
illuminate the reference mirror and the target (measurement surface). The light
reflected from each object interferes with each other, and the interference stripe
Beam splitter
appears as contour lines representing the height at each half wavelength. This
corresponds to the shape of the target surface with respect to the reference mirror. The
Target
interference stripe is captured by the high-resolution 5.6-megapixel color CMOS
camera, and computer processing is used to determine the point of maximum intensity
of the interference stripe for measuring surface conditions.

1-2
Benefits of using a white light interferometer
1  ighest accuracy among non-contact
H
measurement methods

The VK-X3000 can accurately

measure detailed shapes with a
resolution of 0.01 nm.
Measurement of height differences
on transparent objects that are
difficult to measure with focus
variation is also possible.

60.24 nm

Nanometer resolution for measuring height

differences of transparent targets Wafer micropattern (2500×)

2 Nanometer-order measurement at any magnification

With laser confocal and focus variation methods, measurement accuracy depends on the resolution (NA) of the lens. This means
high-accuracy measurements are not possible at low magnifications due to the lower resolution.
However, in principle, there is no accuracy lost with white light interferometry even at low magnifications. The ability to measure over a
wide field-of-view means measurements take less time.

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 3D Surface Profiler
VK-X3000

2-1
Cause of light interference
Light interference occurs when two light waves collide, causing each to strengthen or weaken. This section describes the interference
of two lights reaching point P at a certain distance from the surface of the target. If the difference in distance between the two light
paths S1P and S2P is an integer multiple of the light wavelength λ, the two light waves will strengthen and become brighter at point P
due to the wave peaks overlapping. If the optical path difference is an integer multiple of the wavelength λ + 1/2 the wavelength λ, the
peaks and valleys of the waves will overlap, causing the waves to weaken and become darker.

S2 S1 S2 S2
S1
S1

Optical path difference = S2P – S1P

P P
Bright

Dark

Electromagnetic waves Electromagnetic waves

Peak Peak

0 0

Valley Valley
Peak Peak

0 0
Time Time
Valley Valley

Strengthening due to peaks

overlapping with peaks and Weakening due to peaks
valleys overlapping with valleys overlapping with valleys

0 0

When the optical path difference is an When the optical path difference is an
integer multiple of the wavelength λ integer multiple of the wavelength λ + λ/2

Optical path difference and light interference

3
 Introduction to White Light Interferometry

3-1
Interference stripes
The interference light becomes lighter and darker at intervals equal to half the wavelength of the light source (λ/2). These patterns of
light and dark are called interference stripes. The height of a target can be determined by counting the number of interference stripes.
The physicist Christiaan Huygens and others have proved that interference stripes of light form a graph (waveform) with a fixed period,
as in the figure below. Optical interferometers use this physical phenomenon to ensure high-resolution measurement even at low
magnifications.

For example, when using a 408 nm light source, the interference stripe
spacing (wavelength) is 0.204 µm.
This value represents the height difference of the measured surface.
Because the height difference from peak to peak in the waveform graph

0.204 µm
is 0.204 µm, a resolution of 0.1 nm is possible by dividing the waveform
graph into 2000 segments between the peaks.
Optical interferometers measure changes in height by measuring the
0.204 µm changes between light and dark in regular interference stripes.

Interference stripe wavelengths

3-2
Phase shift interferometry (PSI)
Determining whether the shape of the target is on an upward slope or downward slope is not possible when using interference stripes
generated from a single-wavelength light source. However, this problem can be solved using phase shift interferometry.

As shown in the figure to the left, the interference pattern from a single-
wavelength light source is the same for both upward and downward
slopes, making it impossible to determine the direction.
To solve this problem, the height is measured by capturing four
interference stripe images as the objective lens and target are moved by
λ/8 (1/8 wavelength) of the light source. This measurement method is
called phase shift interferometry (PSI).
Appearance of interference stripes

The main features of phase shift interferometry are as follows:

1. High-resolution Å (angstrom) order measurements are possible.

2. The measurement time is short.

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 3D Surface Profiler
VK-X3000

4-1
Reason for using white light as a light source
Measurement using a single-wavelength light

As shown in the following figures, with a height difference of (1/2 + n) × the wavelength λ of the light source, no changes are
noticeable in the interference stripes, so determining the correct height difference is not possible.

Step height: (1/2 + n) × λ

The interference
stripes are the same
even though the
heights are different.

Appearance of interference stripes

Measurement using white light

When using a white light source, the interference stripes on the measurement surface at the focal point of the objective lens become
stronger, and disappear when moving away from the focal point. Using a composite waveform created by superimposing interference
stripes of different wavelengths makes it possible to detect the interference intensity peaks.

Interference of light with a long wavelength λ1 Position where length of optical paths are equal
Interference waveform of multiple

λ1
single-wavelength lights

Interference of light with a medium wavelength λ2

λ2

λ3

Interference of light with a short wavelength λ3

Interference
intensity peak

1
Composite waveform

Composite waveform

Composite interference stripes

5
 Introduction to White Light Interferometry

5-1
Measurement of uneven surfaces
The VK-X3000 uses a white LED to determine the interference
stripe intensity at each height interval by moving the objective
lens. Height information from the focal point position is obtained
by using a linear scale to measure the lens position at the point
where the interference stripes become stronger. This method is
called vertical scanning interferometry (VSI).

A B

The difference between the

interference intensity peaks at points
A and B indicates the height
difference.

A B

Objective lens scanning and interference stripe intensity

Linear scale module

5-2
High-accuracy measurement even at low magnifications
Height resolution with an optical interferometer does not depend on the magnification of the objective lens because a composite
waveform representing the interference stripe intensity can be accurately reproduced through calculation even if the depth of field of
the objective lens is high.
The interference stripes of light appear at regular intervals because the light wavelength is constant. This means that, if the wavelength
being used is known in advance, it is possible to calculate what the composite waveform from the interference stripe intensity will look
like.
High resolutions can then be achieved by reproducing a composite waveform graph from the interference intensity captured at regular
intervals and separating the reproduced composite waveform for processing.

The composite waveform of the The peak of the created composite

Luminance

Luminance

interference stripe intensity can waveform is the focal point position

be reproduced from the of the lens, and height can be
interference fringes captured at determined through synchronization
regular intervals using an with the travel distance of the lens.
arithmetic formula.

Z-axis height Z-axis height

Composite waveform representing interference stripe intensity

6
 3D Surface Profiler
VK-X3000

6-1
Key points for white light interferometry
1 Focusing
Focusing on the observation screen may be difficult with a white light interferometer because
interference signals are weaker for low-reflectivity targets. The VK-X3000 camera is able to
focus on low-reflectivity targets with high sensitivity thanks to the included laser auto-focus Light-receiving Laser beam
element
function.

2 Zeroing
To ensure accurate measurement with a white light interferometer, the target must be leveled,
otherwise known as zeroing. With conventional systems, ensuring the target is level required
users to check the interference stripes visually and readjust several times. The VK-X3000’s
Laser beam
zeroing support function detects any tilting of the target and automatically calculates the
correction angle. Being able to determine the correction angle in advance allows for easy, Target

reliable, and fast adjustment. θ

6-2
White light interferometry application examples
Pinhole measurements on plated surfaces

Pinhole measurement is possible at low magnifications with a wide field of view.

7
 Introduction to White Light Interferometry

Plastic micro-shape measurement

High-accuracy measurement of nanometer-level microscopic shapes is possible.

Film thickness measurement

Transparent films with a thickness of just 9 nm can be measured with high accuracy.
8
 3D Surface Profiler
VK-X3000

7-1
Feature comparison of various 3D measurement systems

Category Non-contact type systems Contact-type systems

Optical Laser scanning

Measurement White light Laser microscope Atomic force
microscope displacement Profilometer
system interferometer (laser confocal) microscope (AFM)
(focus variation) sensor

Accuracy Excellent Fair Good Good Good Excellent

Excellent Fair Good Good Good Excellent

Resolution
(height
direction) Nanometer Micrometer Nanometer Micrometer Micrometer Nanometer
(< 0.1 nm) (0.2 µm) (0.1 nm) (0.3 µm) (0.01 µm) (< 0.01 nm)

Good Excellent Good Good Fair Poor

Height
measurement
range
7 mm 0.28" 49 mm 1.93" 7 mm 0.28" 5 mm 0.20" 1 mm 0.04" 10 µm 0.000394"

Fair Good Fair Good Excellent Poor

Measurement
area 1 to 200 µm
34 µm to 1.3 mm 50 µm to 15 mm 11 µm to 1.8 mm
8 mm 0.31" 100 mm 3.94" 0.000039" to
0.001339" to 0.05" 0.001969" to 0.59" 0.000433" to 0.07"
0.007874"

XY resolution Fair Fair Excellent Fair Poor Excellent

Measurement
Good Excellent Fair Good Fair Poor
time

Angle
Fair Excellent Excellent Excellent Fair Poor
characteristics

Mirror
surfaces /
Excellent Fair Excellent Fair Excellent Excellent
transparent
targets
Surface Surface
Measurement Surface Surface Line measurement Line measurement
measurement measurement
method measurement measurement (scanning) (scanning)
(scanning) (scanning)

Damage to
No No No No Yes Yes
sample

Nanometer-order High-speed
Supports almost Inline Measurement of
Features accuracy at any measurement Highest accuracy
any material measurement large targets
magnification over a wide range

9
 Introduction to White Light Interferometry

8-1
Troublesome targets for white light interferometers
The VK-X3000 3D surface profiler includes focus variation and laser confocal measurement functions in addition to the white light
interferometer. Use laser confocal or focus variation measurement for the following situations.

High-accuracy measurement of low-reflectivity targets or targets with steep angles

Laser confocal measurement

Metal grindstone surface shape and roughness measurement (400×)

Wide-field measurement of low-reflectivity targets or targets with steep angles

Focus variation measurement

Clock movement height measurement (100×)

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 3D Surface Profiler
VK-X3000

9-1
Laser confocal and focus variation principles
Laser confocal

Z-position detection based on reflected light intensity Height

information Color information
For each pixel within the area (1024 × 768 pixels), the Z-axis position with the
highest reflected light intensity (the focal point, as shown to the right) is
determined, and the reflected light intensity and color information for that point is
Z position Focal point
obtained. This information is used to create three types of data: color, laser
intensity, and height.

Intensity of reflected light

Light intensity information

Pinhole for eliminating ambient light

Lens CMOS Lens PMT
Mirror Mirror
Due to the influence of out-of-focus light and ambient light from neighboring
pixels, high-accuracy measurement and high-resolution observation are difficult
Lens Lens
with a quasi-confocal optical system using CMOS light-receiving elements and
Laser beam Laser beam
Pinhole
other similar systems. A laser confocal optical system, however, eliminates
Target Target
out-of-focus light to achieve high-accuracy measurement and high-resolution
observation.

Without pinhole With pinhole

Focus variation

This measurement principle uses the high-resolution 5.6 megapixel color CMOS
camera to determine the focal point for each pixel by detecting focal changes
(i.e., the degree of blur in an image). To detect focal changes, multiple images of
the target are captured while the lens moves in the Z direction. For in-focus
images, the difference in brightness between adjacent pixels increases
proportionally to the image brightness. However, if the image is not in focus, the
difference in brightness between adjacent pixels becomes small. This makes it
possible to obtain the height information of a target by recording the lens position
at the point with the greatest difference in brightness. The position of the objective
lens is also monitored using the built-in linear scale to provide target height
information with even greater accuracy. In addition to obtaining 3D measurements
of a target, images with in-focus areas are superimposed to create a fully-focused
composite observation image.

11
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