Flaws, such as scratches, texture, pits and dents are small changes in the surface of a product or raw material that might indicate a defect. Flaws can be consistent or random and can be difficult to detect by human eye. It will be critical to not only detect these defects but to also measure at high speed with extreme precision either during inline processing or sample inspection during research. An example of this would include the detection of micro scratches. Here the measurement of depth and area is of critical interest using a profilometer.
App Note: http://www.nanovea.com/Application%20Notes/scratch-depth-measurement.pdf