Book excerpt: Where conventional testing and inspection techniques fail at the micro-scale, optical techniques provide a fast, robust, and relatively inexpensive alternative for investigating the properties and quality of microsystems. Speed, reliability, and cost are critical factors in the continued scale-up of microsystems technology across many industries, and optical techniques are in a unique position to satisfy modern commercial and industrial demands. Optical Inspection of Microsystems is the first comprehensive, up-to-date survey of the most important and widely used full-field optical metrology and inspection technologies. Under the guidance of accomplished researcher Wolfgang Osten, expert contributors from industrial and academic institutions around the world share their expertise and experience with techniques such as image correlation, light scattering, scanning probe microscopy, confocal microscopy, fringe projection, grid and moiré techniques, interference microscopy, laser Doppler vibrometry, holography, speckle metrology, and spectroscopy. They also examine modern approaches to data acquisition and processing. The book emphasizes the evaluation of various properties to increase reliability and promote a consistent approach to optical testing. Numerous practical examples and illustrations reinforce the concepts. Supplying advanced tools for microsystem manufacturing and characterization, Optical Inspection of Microsystems enables you to reach toward a higher level of quality and reliability in modern micro-scale applications.