Practial Applications of Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy

Confocal laser scanning microscopy has been shown to be a useful tool to perform non-destructive quantitative evaluations on the geometry of fine features. This imaging tool is essential in every failure analysis practitioner’s toolkit for the powerful combination of high resolution and high magnification imaging that it provides without the limitations that are typically associated with other high magnification imaging tools such as scanning electron microscopes. Additionally, the quantitative height information that is gathered during imaging is an invaluable resource that can be exploited to clearly illustrate complex geometries or subtle features that would be challenging to show using other imaging tools. Rolls-Royce actively uses confocal laser scanning microscopies in a wide variety of applications including failure analysis where its unique capabilities can be fully realized. Three examples showing the practical application of this tool will be presented to illustrate how Rolls-Royce uses confocal laser scanning microscopies in the failure analysis process.