Gaussian light sheet scattering by a rectangular groove on a metallic surface

Abstract Characterization of a rectangular groove with a width of several micrometers on a metallic surface has been demanding for surface quality evaluation in the fabrication of high-quality optics. In this paper, a numerically study on Gaussian light sheet scattering by a groove is performed based on angular spectrum and modal theories in accordance with requirements of a practical experiment setup. Plane wave scattering is first solved by the modal theory and then superposed to obtain Gaussian light sheet scattering. Influences of illumination and groove parameters are finally investigated. Results show that the groove information is encoded in the scattering signal, which gives indications to the establishment of metrology systems.