A reflectometer for the combined measurement of refractive index, microroughness, macroroughness and gloss of low-extinction surfaces

Roughness, porosity and gloss are important properties of many surfaces including coated and printed paper, paints and mineral-filled plastics. A visible light reflectometer is described for essentially simultaneous measurement of refractive index, gloss, microroughness (rms amplitude in the sub-wavelength region) and the two-dimensional forward scattering pattern (yielding the surface slope distribution and associated statistics) of glossy or semi-glossy low-extinction surfaces. The principal novelty is the ability to obtain this useful combination of data in a single measurement. In combination with an x–y stage, the reflectometer can readily produce surface maps of the various measurement parameters and it is expected that the data should offer improved insights into cause and effect in paper and other surfaces, for example to identify causes of gloss and print mottle. Illustrative experimental data are provided and some comparisons made between data obtained by reflectometry and by alternative techniques such as spectroscopic ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy