Experimental study of influence of smooth surface reflectance and diffuse reflectance on estimation of root mean square roughness.

To estimate the root mean square roughness (σ) of a surface from reflected power, it is necessary to know the diffuse reflectance (DR) and the reflectance (SSR) of a smooth surface made from the same material as the rough surface. In our study, σ is estimated from value of power reflected from one-dimensionally rough steel surfaces in the specular direction without considering SSR and DR. An expression describing dependence of an error of the estimation on SSR and DR is derived. Linear polarized light with λ=660 nm and the azimuth of polarization of 49° was used in the experiment. The angle of incidence was varied from 30° to 74°. It was found that absolute relative errors caused by influence of SSR and DR are smaller than 0.03 in the angular ranges of 46-54° and 30-58° for σ=10.2 nm and σ = 49.8 nm, respectively. Out of these ranges, SSR is the main reason for the errors lying in the wide range of ~0.05-2.5.