Tilt-ellipsometry of object surface by specular reflection for three-dimensional shape measurement.

Ellipsometry by specular reflection has been reworked as a precise surface normal vector detection method for the geometrical shape study of a glossy object. When the object is illuminated by circularly polarized light, the surface normal vector defines the shape of the reflection polarization ellipse; the azimuth and ellipticity are determined by the angle of the incident plane and the angle of incidence, respectively. The tilt-ellipsometry principle of tilt detection is demonstrated experimentally with a metallic polygon and a cube sample.