Optical evaluation of fractal surfaces using array illumination

A new optical method using an array illumination is introduced in order to analyze fractal surfaces on the basis of computer simulations. In computer simulations, some different self-affine surfaces are employed as models of fractal surfaces, and their scaling factors are evaluated by the proposed method. The results an compared with true values to make clear the effectiveness of the method. The effect of shadowing on the surfaces is discussed. The method is applied to three different actual rough surfaces, and their scaling properties are evaluated experimentally.