Welcome
We are pleased to announce our recent entrustment of a LEXT OLS4000 Laser Confocal Microscope from Olympus.
Surface Metrology is the study of surface geometry, also called surface texture or surface roughness. The approach is to measure and analyze the surface texture in order to be able to understand how the texture is influenced by its history, (e.g., manufacture, wear, fracture) and how it influences its behavior (e.g., adhesion, gloss, friction).
The objective of research in surface metrology is to discover how to use texture measurements and analysis to discriminate with different behavior or histories and to correlate them with these histories and behaviors. These discriminations and correlations support product and process design and quality assurance in engineering. Surface metrology can also be used in forensics and to support scientific discoveries in a variety of fields including anthropology, archeology, geography, geology, medicine, and biochemistry.
Upcoming Seminars at WPI:
- 3rd International Conference on Surface Metrology 2012
- 21,22 & 23 March on the campus of l'Université de Savoie, Annecy, France
- 2nd Seminar on Surface Metrology for the Americas
- 15, 16, & 17 October 2012 on the WPI Campus, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
- ASME B46
- May 14,15, 2012 - on the Colorado State University Campus, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- October 16,17 2012 - on the WPI Campus
The scale of interest in surface metrology depends on the application, and is generally in the nanometer to micrometer range. Usually the scale of interest is just below the scale of the form, e.g., the curvature in a bearing. In geography this form could be as large as tens of kilometers. As nanotechnology drives the scales of designed, regular forms, to nanometer scales, surface metrology is used to study these fine scale forms as well.
Mission:
create, discover, and convey knowledge related to topographical phenomena.
- Assist industry, academia, and standards organizations.
- Learn how to better measure and analyze surface topographies.
- Make scientific and technologocial discoveries.
- Create new knowledge to support the design of surfaces and the processes to create them.
- Teach and publish.
Through conferences and invitational lectures, short courses and collaborations with visiting scholars, results of our work have been presented in over a dozen countries on four continents.
If you have any questions regarding the laboratory facilities, staff, or lab work, please do not hesitate to contact us at surface@wpi.edu
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: February 20, 2012 16:38:54