Get an optical profilometer for less than half the price of an AFM or 3D stylus profilometer! The Profilm3D uses state-of-the-art white light interferometry (WLI) to measure surface profiles and roughness down to 0.05 µm; adding the low-cost PSI option takes the minimum vertical feature size down to 0.001 µm.
Our intuitive, full-featured Profilm software makes it easy to measure surface roughness, profiles, and step heights. In seconds, you can measure all common roughness parameters, on both flat and curved surfaces. A powerful stitching feature to combine multiple profilometer images is available as a low-cost software upgrade.
Free! Web-based Analyzer for Profilometer and AFM Images
Drag to rotate these Profilm3D images and scroll to zoom. For a more complete analysis, simply click on an image title to view it with ProfilmOnline - our free web-based program for viewing, analyzing, and sharing images from any 3D profilometer!
You can measure surface texture, finish, and roughness in seconds with the Profilm3D, all with a single mouse click. Using the industry-standard techniques of white light interferometry (WLI) and phase-shifting interferometry (PSI), the Profilm3D measures roughness and texture over a large 2D area quickly and without contacting the sample.
Measure Curved Samples
Because the Profilm3D is a non-contact technique, you can easily measure curved and other non-flat surfaces. Shape removal (aka form removal) and filtering can be added to your measurement recipe to make surface finish, texture, and roughness measurements a one-click affair!
Report in Any Standard Roughness Parameter
The Profilm3D calculates all of the 47 standard ASME/EUR/ISO roughness parameters (click to see the full list of 2D and 3D parameters). You can have any or all of them displayed with your results, making custom reporting a snap.
ISO 9000 and ASME B46.1 Compliant
Optical methods of measuring surface roughness are now fully supported by ISO. In particular, ISO 25178 Part 604 describes the Profilm3D's WLI method (which is also known as coherence scanning interferometry, among other things).
Optical profilometers have many advantages over AFMs and stylus profilometers:
Optical Profilometers Measure Over Large Areas Quickly
In the same few seconds that it takes to make a stylus-profiler line scan, the Profilm3D measures an area that's several square millimeters. Roughness calculated with the resulting area scan produces measurements that are statistically more significant and representative of the surface than those from a line scan. If you're using a stylus profilometer to scan the same size area, be prepared to spend several minutes waiting (and hope that you have your scan parameters set right!)
Optical Profilometers are Easy to Use
Once your measurement recipe is set up (which our experts are happy to help you do), just sit your sample on the Profilm3D stage and click the Measure button. If you're interested in measuring a particular microscopic location, the Profilm3D's automated XY stage makes it easy to find (use the software buttons to move the stage or use the optional SpaceMouse® as a joystick). Easier still, as long as your area-of-interest is within the Profilm3D's big 2mm x 1.7mm field-of-view (with a 10x objective lens), you can easily analyze different areas.
Non-Contact Means Non-Flat Samples Can Be Measured
Because optical profilometry is a non-contact technique, you can easily measure curved and other non-flat surfaces. Shape removal (aka form removal) and filtering come standard with the Profilm3D and can easily be added to your recipe - making measurement of surface finish, texture, and roughness of curved surfaces fast and easy. Profiles can also be leveled post-scan – another function that can be made automatic by adding it to one of your measurement recipes. In addition to all this, being a non-contact method means that optical profilers won't damage your soft and delicate films the way contact stylus profilers do.
No Consumables
If you have a stylus profilometer you know that tip damage is a constant concern, and that tip replacement isn't quick or cheap. In contrast, optical profilers do not contact your sample and are about as fragile as your average microscope. The Profilm3D light source is an LED, so there are no lamps (or anything else) to periodically replace.
Optical Profilometers are Fun!
You get to see a visual 3D representation of your sample – not just the squiggly line of the typical stylus profilometer trace. And with a SpaceMouse®, your 3D images are easily manipulated in all three dimensions.
Technical Features
| Thickness Range, WLI | 50 nm - 10 mm |
| Thickness Range, PSI* | 0 - 3 μm |
| Sample Reflectance Range | 0.05% - 100% |
*Optional phase-shifting interferometry mode
| Z Range | 100 mm |
| Piezo Range | 500 μm |
| XY Stage Type | Automated |
| XY Stage Range | 100 mm x 100 mm |
| Camera | 2592 x 1944 (5 megapixels) |
| System Size, W x D x H | 300 mm x 300 mm x 550 mm |
| System Weight | 15 kg |
| General Computer Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Video | Hardware acceleration supporting DirectX 11 |
| Operating system | Windows 7 or newer (64-bit OS required) |
| I/O Ports | One available USB3 Port |
| Minimum Configuration | Recommended Configuration | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Dual Core, 2.0 GHz Clock Speed | Quad Core, 2.2 GHz Clock Speed |
| Display | 1366 x 768 | 1920 x 1080 |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Disk Space | 300 MB | 500 MB |
| Magnification | 5X | 10X | 20X | 50X | 100X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field-of-View | 4.0 x 3.4 mm | 2.0 x 1.7 mm | 1.0 x 0.85 mm | 0.4 x 0.34 mm | 0.2 x 0.17 mm |
| Spatial Sampling*** | 1.76 μm | 0.88 μm | 0.44 μm | 0.176 μm | 0.088 μm |
** Sold separately
*** Pixel size projected on sample