A probing system with a rotatable tip for 3D coordinate nanometrology

Abstract

Performing coordinate nanometrology of arbitrarily shaped three-dimensional (3D) objects about a micrometer or less in size remains a challenge. In this paper we report a probing system with a rotatable tip for performing coordinate metrology on such objects. An atomically sharp tip is mounted on an active ball-and-socket microjoint, and the two are integrated into a conventional microcantilever probe. The ball-and-socket joint allows the tip to be pointed in any direction, and thereby enables access to any desired 3D feature, while the probe is employed to repeatedly touch the sample surface and extract its corresponding coordinates. The system has been demonstrated to access the surfaces of both horizontally and vertically oriented muscovite mica surfaces and to perform their coordinate nanometrology.