SURFACE OBSERVATION APPARATUS

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a surface observation apparatus by which the roughness, the flaw, the foreign particle or the like on the surface of a specimen can be discriminated easily. SOLUTION: A laser (coherent light) luminous flux is created on the measuring face of the specimen by an optical system constituted of a collimator lens and a cylindrical lens, and a thin linear luminous flux which is imaged-formed on the surface of the specimen is projected. Reflected light from a face to be inspected forms a one-dimensional speckle pattern. The reflected light is fetched by a CCD camera or the like so as to be displayed and processed. When the apparatus is used, the surface of any specimen can be observed without coming into contact with the specimen. The observation of the state on the surface of the specimen and the high-accuracy measurement of its movement distance and its speed can be realized by a simple mechanism. Since the measurement can be performed in a noncontact manner, the fluctuation of a water surface, the movement of a blood vessel, a vibration phenomenon or the like can be visualized easily.