Automatic identification and classification of surface defects in small-sized optics

Abstract Precision optics are widely used in lighting systems, imaging systems, and high-precision inspection equipment. The presence of surface defects in optics can seriously affect the design performance of the equipment, so the optics must be rigorously inspected to eliminate defective optics. Currently, engineering products are moving toward smaller sizes, resulting in smaller optics in them also moving towards smaller sizes. However, realizing the surface defect detection of small-sized optics is a great challenge because it requires micrometer-scale high-resolution image acquisition and automatic detection of defects on their surfaces. A machine learning-based automatic surface defect detection method is proposed for surface defects with many types and small sizes. A dark-field micro-scattering imaging system is used to acquire dark-field images. Then the image segmentation and feature analysis are performed on each image to extract the original feature data, and the original feature data are compressed by reliefF algorithm. Based on the compressed feature data, a classification model is built using a support vector machine. The detection method can classify three kinds of defects, namely, dig, scratch, and scuff mark. The accuracy of the method is up to 98%. The experimental results of this study show that the method can automatically and accurately detect a wide range of micro defects occurring in small-sized optics, thus providing valuable insights into the realization of mass production of small-sized optics. In addition, our proposed method provides some ideas for further research in the field of defect detection in small-sized optics.