Abstract
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is increasingly being used as a fundamental tool for dimensional measurements at the nanoscale in the laboratory and in industry. Since the environmental temperature is not controlled in many measurements, or is even varied on purpose, quantification of its effects on AFM dimensional measurements is needed. In this paper, the influences of the temperature in the entire environment of the AFM (excluding only the controller and computer) and that in the local environment around the tip–sample are investigated. The results show that lateral dimensional measurements are affected mainly by the entire environmental temperature. However, vertical measurements are influenced by the temperature of both the entire environment and the local environment. The effects become significant for temperatures higher than some threshold, here between 35 and 40 °C.
Highlights
Since its invention, atomic force microcopy (AFM)1 has emerged as a versatile tool in a wide range of research fields
Surface roughness6 and feature dimensions,7,8 including height, width, and pitch, are common measurements. This has led to a need to standardize AFMs for dimensional measurements
We report here our work to experimentally quantify environmental temperature effect on AFM dimensional measurements, in the framework of the TC201/SC9 Subcommittee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Summary
Atomic force microcopy (AFM) has emerged as a versatile tool in a wide range of research fields. Many of their applications are based on their capabilities for high-resolution topographic imaging, as well as for measurements of various properties of materials, AFMs are increasingly being employed for quantitative metrological measurements, especially in the semiconductor industry.. Surface roughness and feature dimensions, including height, width, and pitch, are common measurements. This has led to a need to standardize AFMs for dimensional measurements.. Physical transfer standards calibrated by metrological AFMs can be used to calibrate normal AFMs
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