Confovis is a system provider of optical 3D measuring systems for industrial application. In the market since 2009, the company has focused on customer and application- oriented solutions. The Confovis patented confocal microscopy of “structured illumination microscopy” opens new vistas in fast and nanometer scale surface analysis for industrial applications. With the latest generation of measurement systems, Confovis combines the confocal measuring technique and the focus variation in a single system. In doing so, the measuring equipment specialist offers industry customers in the areas of automotive & aerospace, tool making and mechanical-engineering, metallurgy, semiconductors, and optical industries a time and cost-saving solution for most different measurement tasks such as micro contour measurement and roughness measurements traceable to certified standards in accordance with valid norms.
Confovis ist Anbieter optischer Messtechnik aus Jena
Olympus partnership
After two years of the delivery of optical lenses, a partnership was also agreed with Olympus in 2018 to be able in future to deliver all-in solutions to customers in the semiconductor industry, particularly for infrared measurement tasks, on the basis of the Olympus microscopes with IR capability.
Higher degree of automation
In industrial environments, the ease of operating a measurement system and the absence of operator intervention are becoming ever more important factors. In the area of roughness measurement and outline analysis, based on the requirement of operator independent measurement, the measurement system TOOLinspect was developed in which a measuring plan is available for recurring measurement tasks.
For the semiconductor industry, Confovis developed the WAFERinspect measurement system which performs 2D and 3D measurement tasks on the basis of recipes. For measuring macro-lead and micro-lead of shafts, an automated solution was worked out together with the Institut für Maschinenelemente which evaluates macro-lead according to die MBN 31007-7 and micro-lead according to the IMA procedure in one measuring sequence nt . The declared target is to offer an alternative to the string method.
Extension of the product portfolio
In addition to standard systems on the basis of microscope components, the Duo Vario measurement system was developed in 2016. It combines the patented confocal measuring method with the focus variation and has a substantially wider measuring area. On the basis of this system, different device types with a granite base were developed to be able to measure large and heavy samples. Besides, additional axle drives and handling facilities for positioning the samples were developed in line with requirements in industry.
Establishing specific solutions for industry
Starting in 2015, the company increasingly focused activities on different industries and developed measurement systems specifically for the requirements in the target areas. The combination of confocal measurement and focus variation, for example, attracted new customers from tool making and mechanical-engineering and the automotive industry. The traceability of measurement results to independent standards with practical ground and polished textures such as, e.g., roughness standards of the company HALLE, was of paramount importance.
Second measuring method implemented
With two scan modules in the range since 2015, the measuring systems are even more flexible. A new addition is the FocusCam® Scan Module, aimed mainly at shape and contour measurement of microstructures with high flank angles. It measures exclusively using focus variation. For more advanced and comprehensive analyses of shape and roughness, there is the 2-in-1 Scan Module ConfoCam C1+. This module can measure even reflective surfaces to nanometre precision for standards-compliant and fully traceable determination of roughness parameters.
Nikon partnership
The first products were sold to buyers in industry and in R&D. The demand for all-in solutions for the semiconductor industry was felt very soon. To that end, a partnership with NIKON was forged in 2011 with the aim to create a system capable of 2D and 3D measurements on the basis of the NIKON optical microscopes for wafer inspection using the ConfoCam®.
Optical measurement systems for surface analysis of nanometer accuracy
Based on different industry requirements, Confovis develops optical 3D measurement systems for measurement and evaluation of surface characteristics. The optical measuring systems are tailored exactly to the requirements of the respective industries; their modular design makes them adaptable to customer requirements in terms of size, features and technology. Depending on the configuration, the optical measuring systems are available as manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic systems. As stand-alone systems, their design and available interfaces make them suitable for integration into existing production-related series measurement systems. Surfaces, microstructures etc. are measured with the appropriate measurement software from Confovis and subsequently evaluated by the established evaluation software such as MountainsMap© or GOM©. In terms of quality assurance, this results in significant time savings, high data quality and reliable measurement data for evaluation. Unlike the conventional confocal measuring methods, the optical measuring method patented by Confovis, supply artifact-free measurement data even of most complex surfaces (such as reflecting, transparent or diffuse layers).
Confovis measuring systems
Measurement systems: Waferinspect
WAFERinspect
Reliable 3D & 2D measurements for the semiconductor industry
Measurement systems: Leadinspect
LEADinspect
Measurement of micro and macro lead in one measuring procedure
Measurement systems: Toolinspect
TOOLinspect
Analysis of various surfaces
Measurement systems: Rollerinspect
ROLLERinspect
Automatic defect detection and defect inspection
Measurement systems: OEM Modul
OEM module
The Confovis measuring method for roughness and micro contour measurements
Optical 3D measurement of most difficult surfaces
The structures of certain surface features require a full analysis by optical measurement systems. In combination with confocal microscopy, surfaces can be analyzed in their entirety with regard to microgeometry, roughness measurement and isotropy and are traceable to the common roughness standards DIN EN ISO 4287 and 13565. This means, for example, that artifact-free measurements can be made even of the most challenging surface combinations.
An example for this is contacts (mostly gold) of a USB stick, which are embedded in insulation material (mostly plastic), which puts other 3D measuring systems to the test due to the different materials. With the optical 3D measuring systems from Confovis such difficult combinations of material and surface can be handled without the use of filters. The same applies to extremely hard layers (e.g., DLC coatings or amorphous carbon layers such as ta-C), which can be detected at every process step. Due to the frequently random distribution of the structural elements of these surfaces, the use of Confovis measuring systems supply higher parameter stability than tactile devices.
Optical measurement system
Optical 3D measurement with Confovis
Whether in production, clean rooms, test laboratories or in research & development: the Confovis measurement systems are easy to integrate, simple to operate and provide measuring results with an accuracy down to the single-digit nanometer range even in harsh environments. Besides, measurements are made at high speed, which saves valuable time.
No use of noise filters, complete transparency of raw data
Measurement on reflecting, transparent and diffuse surfaces
Roughness measurement traceable to any roughness standard
Simple handling: 3 clicks for the measurement, 1 click for the evaluation
Short measuring time: very much like a profile device
Automation and QA database interfaces
The optical measurement systems of Confovis can be integrated
Detailed surface measurements are not yet standard in measuring machines or inspection systems, so that roughness or waviness must be measured at no less than two different stations. This requires higher input and therefore longer measuring time.
Simple integration into coordinate measuring machines (CMM) is ensured by the robust design (no moving parts). This eliminates the need for transfer times and also ensures the uniformity of data transfer.
Measurement tasks in surface metrology
Optical 3D surface metrology tailored to your measurement task: The optical 3D surface measurement systems from Confovis solve your measurement tasks successfully in an automated process. The patented Confovis technology is based on the confocal optical measurement method “Structured Illumination Microscopy” (SIM), which in contrast to other measuring methods (e.g. laser scanning microscopy or other methods of surface metrology) provides unrivaled measuring speed and data quality. The SIM measurement method is supplemented perfectly by focus variation for measurements of form and other geometric features. The Confovis optical measurement systems provide measuring data even of demanding surfaces and material combinations with nanometer accuracy.
Measurement tasks and applications in optical 3D surface metrlogy
Measurement task: Defect inspection
Wafer Inspection
Defect detection and dimensional measurements of wafer structures
Measurement task: Roughness
Roughness measurement
Roughness measurements traceable to standards
Measurement task: Lead measurement
Lead analysis
Analysis of micro and macro lead
Measurement task: Wear measurement
Wear measurement
Measurement task: Tribological surface
Tribological surfaces
Measurement task: Mems structures
MEMS structures
Measurement task: Defect inspection
Defect Inspection
Surface measurement technology from Confovis
Based on the requirements of different measuring tasks Confovis develops optical 3D measuring systems for measurement and evaluation of surface properties. These systems are of modular design; therefore, the optical surface measuring instruments can be adapted to customer requirements in terms of hardware and software.
