%0 Journal Article
%T Advanced Nanomeasuring Techniques for Surface Characterization
%A Salah H. R. Ali
%J ISRN Optics
%D 2012
%R 10.5402/2012/859353
%X Advanced precise and accurate nanomeasurement techniques play an important role to improve the function and quality of surface characterization. There are two basic approaches, the hard measuring techniques and the soft computing measuring techniques. The advanced soft measuring techniques include coordinate measuring machines, roundness testing facilities, surface roughness, interferometric methods, confocal optical microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, and computed tomography at the level of nanometer scale. On the other hand, a new technical committee in ISO is established to address characterization issues posed by the areal surface texture and measurement methods. This paper reviews the major advanced soft metrology techniques obtained by optical, tactile, and other means using instruments, classification schemes of them, and their applications in the engineering surfaces. Furthermore, future trends under development in this area are presented and discussed to display proposed solutions for the important issues that need to be addressed scientifically. 1. Introduction Surface metrology became very important in many branches of science and industry. Study of dimensional and surface nanometrology is becoming more commonplace in many applications and research environments as well as data treatments dealing with standardized rules. Therefore, surface characterization using advanced accurate and precise nanomeasuring techniques are important tools especially in the production engineering, tribology, biotechnology, and criminology. Because of this diversification, there are more advanced metrology techniques using stylus, optical, and nonoptical methods used for analyzing the surface characteristics, where each technique has its own specific applications [1]. The ISO technical committee TC-213 in the field of dimensional and geometrical product specifications and verification formed a working group WG-16 to address standardization of areal (3D) surface texture and measurement methods, and to review existing standards on traditional profiling (2D) methods including characteristics of instruments. In 2007, the project of this working group was to develop standards for three basic methods of areal surface texture measurements [2¨C4]. A line-profiling method used a high-resolution probe to sense the peaks and valleys of the surface topography and produce a quantitative profile of surface. Areal topography methods extend the line-profiling method into 3D, usually by restoring a series of parallel pattern profiles or by some quantitative topographic imaging
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.optics/2012/859353/