Measurement of surface roughness on mechanical components, which may incorp
orate also critical profiles, using diffused light techniques is a very com
plex problem. This paper describes a new optoelectronic device employing a
diode laser and an array of discrete photodetectors placed on an arc of cir
cle and interfaced with a data acquisition board. The device allows an exte
nded range of roughness measurements; it is compact, easy to be used and al
most insensitive to external noise and vibrations. It provides an estimatio
n of the surface quality parameters comparing the scattered light at two di
fferent ranges of angles thereby overcoming many of the earlier limitations
. The experiment has evidenced that there is a good agreement between measu
rement results and theoretical model usually applicable to normally distrib
uted surfaces. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.