A glass tube micro-stylus probe for surface form metrology

This paper presents a micro-stylus probe, which is composed of a precision glass micro-ball and a shaft made by a glass tube. The diameter of the micro-ball was 50 μm. The tip angle of the glass-tube shaft was approximately 10 degrees. Strength test shows that the tolerance of glass tube micro-stylus against external forces is 90 mN. To reduce the stick-slip phenomena, a micro-tapping probe employing the glass tube micro-stylus and a PZT actuator was demonstrated. The micro-stylus probe was mounted to an air-bearing displacement sensor for scanning surface form metrology. Experimental results showed that the micro-tapping probe was effective for reducing the influence of the stick-slip phenomena.