Design and Performance Benchmarking of an In-Situ Chromatic Focus Variation Optical Metrology System for Advanced Manufacturing

This project aims to advance surface metrology from lab-based systems to in-situ applications for high-precision manufacturing. Traditional Focus Variation (FV) systems are bulky and rely on mechanical scanning, introducing errors and thermal drift. To overcome these limitations, we propose Chromatic Focus Variation (CFV), which eliminates mechanical motion by using wavelength scanning to achieve rapid, accurate measurements. Preliminary experiments confirm feasibility. The project will develop a pre-production prototype, validate performance against state-of-the-art systems, and benchmark across diverse surfaces, including additive manufacturing. In collaboration with CUBIT Precision Measurement Ltd, we will target industrial deployment and market expansion.