I am not a guru in this area. I took a few moments to ask one of our mechanical people an opinion, and came up with none.
I don't think there is a single answer to the question. I understand laser micrometers and certain optical measurement instruments to be very good. But bottom line (I underscore I am not a guru in this one), it comes back to comparison of the measurement and its variables and the appropriate tool. Even in the semiconductor industry use of laser (6328 Angstrom) to measure film thickness has long been one of the industry standards. But as films get thinner, X-ray becomes more desirable, and ultimately, perhaps measurement of electrical parameters on the thin films may replace the laser (i.e.: first contact, then non-contact, then back to non-contact).
In larger dimensional measurements (machined parts), some of that may also apply. Contact vs non-contact temperature measurement - some applications one is better, some, the other.
I think you have to intelligently evaluate your application, and be familiar with the state of the art tools available to measure it.
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