Conventional surface-characterization techniques either are not sophisticated enough to provide complete surface-topographical data or cannot be employed because of the relatively low hardness of magnetic media. An optical profilometer has been developed which provides a noncontact method of obtaining surface characteristics from a magnetic medium. The system consists of a standard Leitz reflection microscope, a Mirau interferometer controlled by a piezoelectric transducer, a linear array of photodiode detectors, and a microcomputer. The combination yields a system that measures the optical-height variations of surfaces to a high degree of precision. This height variation is processed by a computer to provide surface-topographical statistical parameters, which are useful to predict tribological and magnetic performances of the head-media interface. Sample data of magnetic media (tape, floppy disk, and rigid disk) are presented.Presented at the 38th Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas, April 24–28, 1983