Remote identification of protrusions and dents on surfaces by terahertz reflectometry with spatial beam filtering and out-of-focus detection

We propose two terahertz reflectometry modalities that are optimized to be sensitive to the curvature of surface features. The first is a dark-field technique that allows the detection of protrusions and dents on surfaces with high sensitivity. It cannot distinguish, however, between convex and concave shapes. This becomes possible with the second technique, which combines out-of-focus imaging with suitable beam filtering. Both methods may be of interest for surface inspection in fabrication environments; for example, for online monitoring during metal processing. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.