Analysis of method for measuring thickness of plane-parallel plates and lenses using chromatic confocal sensor

Noncontact optical metrology based on the chromatic confocal principle is becoming increasingly important for fast and accurate measurements of surface topography, distance, and layer thickness in engineering and industry. These sensors are based on the wavelength dependence of longitudinal chromatic aberration of optical systems, and the distance or thickness of the measured sample is coded into spectral information. We provide a theoretical analysis of a problem of the thickness measurement of transparent samples (glass plane-parallel plates or lenses) with respect to material dispersion. Our work deals with a description and analysis of induced measurement errors in the cases of measurement of the thickness of a plane-parallel plate and the central thickness of a lens. Relations are derived for a quantitative evaluation of these errors and a method is presented for minimizing the influence of these errors on the accuracy of measurement. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America