Contrast enhancement of surface layers with fast middle-infrared scanning

In this study, we present an efficient and innovative method to visualize absorption differences in the mid-infrared range with spatial resolution using laser technology. We focus on only two lasers with wavelengths between 3.4 μm and 3.6 μm and a spatial resolution of 20 μm and thus achieve a scanning speed up to 300 kS/s for fast image generation. In this article, we focus especially on the detection of C-H bands in this region of the absorption spectrum. Concealed structures are examined by calculating the measured structures with both wavelengths. In our results, we demonstrate exemplary measurements on 130-μm-thick polyvinyl chloride layers. In turn, these structures are suitable for further processing in rapid quantitative quality control.