Surface inspection with near infrared spectroscopy - possibilities, applications and visions

To produce quality high-class products, technical cleanliness of components is indispensable. This requires efficient cleansing processes as well as testing systems which directly inspect the surfaces. For this reason effective inspection systems are needed. With near infrared spectroscopy systems it is possible to quantify the thickness and determine the consistency of the surface layers. The detectable layers are in a range of some hundred nanometres. The fields of applications range from detection of contamination films after technical cleaning processes to measurement of coatings. A wide variety of testing applications can be covered with this non-visible imaging technology. The presentation will show the possibilities from research intensive applications in laboratories up to process integrated systems in manufacturing environments.