There is a lack of fast and cost-effective measurement methods with sufficiently accurate reliability for the evaluation of the brazeability of component surfaces for inline quality control in brazing production. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the usability of spectroscopic ellipsometry as a tool to characterize the surface condition of metals with regard to their brazeability. For this purpose, the surfaces of typical materials (steels, copper) used in brazing technology were modified in a defined manner (oxidized, contaminated with oils, etc.) and their optical properties were measured by ellipsometry. From the data, a correlation between the surface condition, its brazing and wetting behavior and the optical properties of the surface was obtained. The results can be exploited for realizing an automatic optical inspection method for component surfaces prior to brazing.
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