Measurement of liquid film thickness by a fringe method

A technique was developed and tested to measure the local thickness of a droplet or a liquid film on a surface of an opaque or thick single transparent plate by an interference fringe pattern that was easily formed by reflecting laser lights. Monochromatic epi-illumination through an objective lens of a conventional microscope was provided by a 5 mW or 300 mW laser and a filter to remove the noise caused by laser speckle. The incremental height difference of the liquid layer between neighboring maxima or minima of fringes was evaluated from the wavelength of the laser light and the refractive index of the liquid. Estimation error of a local inclination angle was discussed using ray tracing under parallel illumination approximation. Droplet profiles evaluated from the interferogram that were obtained by the present fringe method agreed well with those by Laser Focus Displacement Meter. Measurement was made to ensure the usefulness of the present technique. It was made clear that the contact angle of a liquid droplet could be obtained precisely and swiftly, even in small size or small contact angle, and that instantaneous three-dimensional profile of a liquid film on a bubble moving in a microchannel could be measured. The fringe method had sufficient potential to obtain more detailed information about three-dimensional characteristics of liquid film in flows such as the generation, breakdown, and growth of waves and the liquid film on a bubble at the beginning of movement.