The laser is perfectly suited for high precision inspection, because of its high resolution and the various wavelengths available that can be selected according to the material under investigation.

Laser inspection can be divided into two segments. One is the quality control of microscopically generated features and the determination of contamination in the semiconductor field. Microscopic laser inspection uses scattering, absorption and ultrasonic techniques to determine and locate a defect or a contamination of sizes in the range of the wavelength used. The Compass 315M / 415M family and the Verdi series of CW solid-state lasers in the green and the Sapphire™  family in the blue cover scattering and absorption techniques, whereas the Vitesse family of femtosecond lasers serve ultrasonic applications.

The other segment in laser inspection is the determination of the quality of the macroscopic shape and its deviation to a reference. For this purpose interferometry, shearography and holography using visible and deep UV wavelengths are widely used methods that achieve accuracy on the order of the wavelength employed. Coherent serves this market with the Verdi and Compass 315/415M series (green - 532 nm), Sapphire (blue - 488 nm) and the Azure (deep UV - 266 nm). All of these lasers have the unique PermAlign™ technique for superior stability and lifetime. For the blue spectrum Coherent offers the revolutionary Sapphire family at 460 and 488 nm.