Time-domain surface profile imaging via a hyperspectral Fourier transform spectrometer

We describe a method for time-domain surface profile measurements via white-light reflection spectroscopy using a hyperspectral Fourier transform spectrometer (HS-FTS). This technique measures the frequency of the spectral modulation of reflected light from a multilayer optical surface and reports the spatially resolved optical thickness. Owing to the Fourier relationship, the Fourier transform spectrometer manifests this spectral modulation as temporal satellites in interferogram space. We show that measurement of the positions of these satellites can be used to reconstruct the optical thickness profile over a surface using the HS-FTS.