The JRC in Karlsruhe uses a hot cell laboratory consisting of 24 shielded hot cells where highly radioactive materials can be received, handled, examined and returned to their owners. As part of the research into highly radioactive materials, a confocal laser optical microscope is a device which is able to add the third dimension to normal pictures. The use of the laser provides information about the height or depth of features present on the sample surface. An exemplary application is the characterization of the sample surface roughness in a contactless manner for radioactive samples.