Light-scattering measurement of the rms slopes of rough surfaces.

Angle-resolved light scattering (ARLS) is used to estimate the root-mean-square (rms) slopes of rough surfaces having a well-defined lay, and the effect on slope measurements caused by changing the angles of incidence and scattering is investigated. The ARLS patterns are taken with the Detector Array for Laser Light Angular Scattering (Dallas) research instrument, and the rms slopes are obtained from the angular widths of these patterns. In general, it was found that the angular width, and thus the estimated rms slope, is surprisingly insensitive to relatively large changes in both the incident and scattering angles of light. These results are independent of surface material and are valid for both sinusoidal and random rough surfaces with lay. The principles, experiments, analyses, and conclusions involved in using ARLS to estimate rms surface slopes are described.