Three-dimensional measurement of an inner surface profile using a supercontinuum beam.

We demonstrate an inner surface profile measurement that has a smooth spatial distribution. A supercontinuum beam suppresses the speckle contrast to 22% and the standard deviation of the point cloud to 40%, compared to equivalent values obtained by use of a conventional green He-Ne laser at a wavelength of 543.5 nm. A compact probe for the inner surface profile measurements using the supercontinuum beam measures the depth removed by wear of a small hole in an automobile component. The radial spatial resolution was evaluated to be 2 μm, which was of the same order as the wavelength of the supercontinuum beam. The supercontinuum beam enables fivefold improvement of the radial spatial resolution compared to the monochromatic wavelength beam because of a reduction in speckle effects.