| The reflection studies of steel samples subjected to mechanical polishing, etching and oxidation processes have been performed with an integrating sphere, along with atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigation. It appears that the total light reflection from the steel surfaces changes very little after mechanical treatment, but contribution of specular- and diffuse components of the optical reflection changes substantially. Etching in an HCl solution causes initially decreasing of roughness, but, after longer etching time, roughness increases by about 15%. During the optical studies of oxidation in situ in the free air, it has been found that roughness decreases rapidly during first 200 s and then it asymptotically goes back to its initial value. |
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