Bruker Introduces Next-Generation 3D Areal Surface Measurement Technology for Production and Research Environments

SAN FRANCISCO, California, January 31, 2023 – At the SPIE Photonics West 2023 Exhibition, Bruker Corporation today announced the release of two new white-light interferometry (WLI) systems: the ContourX-1000 and NPFLEX-1000 optical profilometers. These floor-standing platforms enable faster, automated areal measurements of surface texture and roughness. The new one-click Advanced Find Surface feature with auto-focus and auto-illumination improves user experience and time-to-result, eliminating the complexity of manually registering the surface before each measurement. Combined with self-adapting measurement mode USI and guided, simplified VisionXpress interface, this unique capability enables uncompromised metrology on any surface at increased throughput.

The ContourX-1000 features operator-friendly automated measurement and analysis recipes, providing the most accurate and precise metrology for high-volume production facilities in semiconductor and optoelectronic processing, advanced packaging development, and medical device manufacturing. The NPFLEX-1000 has a large gantry and swivel head design, delivering a unique gage-capable solution for accessing difficult orientations on large parts in QA/QC of precision machining for the automotive, medical, and large-scale additive manufacturing sectors.

“I have been using Bruker optical profiling technology since the 1980s, and these new systems are a wonderful culmination of 30+ years of development,” says Don Cohen, Founder and President of Michigan Metrology. “Integrating an automatic focus-finding capability into stand-alone systems is a real game-changer for metrology labs where speed, operator ease, and repeatable measurements are paramount.”

“Bruker’s portfolio of optical profilers has a long history of industry-leading functionality, fast time-to-results, and extraordinary ease-of-use,” says Samuel Lesko, Senior Director and General Manager of Bruker’s Tribology, Stylus and Optical Metrology Business. “With our new WLI solutions, those capabilities are further elevated, especially considering the potential for non-expert users to obtain quality results in seconds compared to minutes on ordinary systems.” 

ContourX-1000 features an industry-focused combination of Bruker’s patented tip/tilt head, a self-calibrating laser reference, integrated pattern recognition, and recipe portability. Its Universal Scanning Interferometry (USI) self-adapting measurement mode automatically determines the optimal measurement parameters, and the guided, simplified VisionXpress interface decouples analysis quality from experience level of the user. This unique combination of hardware and software provides the fastest time to best metrology results and brings maximum stability and tool-to-tool matching capabilities to R&D and manufacturing. 

NPFLEX-1000 combines all ease-of-use advantages from the ContourX-1000 with a large form-factor gantry and robust bridge architecture. The NPFLEX-1000 system provides ultimate sample-size flexibility with 300 mm of space below the objective lens, a swivel head, and super-long working distance objectives. In addition, high-slope surface access is significantly extended via a fold mirror option. This extreme usability is available at uncompromising speeds; fast, automated measurements and full analysis within 10 seconds translates to critical improvements in throughput for production environments.