Optical surface roughness determination using speckle correlation technique.

Two speckle patterns produced from the same rough surface by two different illuminations are correlated. The correlation depends on the surface roughness. The two illuminations were obtained here by varying the angle of incidence of a coherent plane wave on the surface. The speckle patterns are recorded on the same film by double exposure. By placing this film in a convergent laser beam, Young fringes are observed in the Fourier plane. The correlation of the speckle patterns is obtained by measuring the visibility of the fringes. The theoretical calculations have been performed for a normally distributed surface. The experimental results are in good agreement with theory.