A rapid optical system for surface roughness measurement of hard films

Zirconium carbon nitride (ZrCN) hard films own lower friction coefficient, high hardness, higher wear and corrosion resistance. A low-cost optical inspection system for rapid surface roughness measurements of ZrCN hard films is developed in this study. The savings in modulation time of photodetector for a new measurement angle is up to 60%. The incident angle of 20° is found to be a good candidate for predicting the surface roughness of ZrCN hard films. Surface roughness of ZrCN hard films can be determined rapidly from the average value of the reflected direct current voltage recorded by the optical system developed. The maximum measurement error rate of the optical measurement system developed is less than 12.37%.