Shot noise limit of the optical 3D measurement methods for smooth surfaces

Abstract

The measurement uncertainty of optical 3D measurement methods for smooth surfaces caused by shot noise is investigated. The shot noise is a fundamental property of the quantum nature of light. If all noise sources are eliminated, the shot noise represents the ultimate limit of the measurement uncertainty. The measurement uncertainty is calculated for several simple model methods. The analysis shows that the measurement uncertainty depends on the wavelength of used light, the number of photons used for the measurement, and on a factor that is connected with the geometric arrangement of the measurement setup.