Error analysis for a laser differential confocal radius measurement system.

In order to further improve the measurement accuracy of the laser differential confocal radius measurement system (DCRMS) developed previously, a DCRMS error compensation model is established for the error sources, including laser source offset, test sphere position adjustment offset, test sphere figure, and motion error, based on analyzing the influences of these errors on the measurement accuracy of radius of curvature. Theoretical analyses and experiments indicate that the expanded uncertainty of the DCRMS is reduced to U=0.13  μm+0.9  ppm·R (k=2) through the error compensation model. The error analysis and compensation model established in this study can provide the theoretical foundation for improving the measurement accuracy of the DCRMS.