Calibration standards for profilometers and methods of producing them

US5578745A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Thomas Bayer · Igersheim, DE
• Johann Greschner · Neckartenzlingen, DE
• Yves Martin · Ossining, US
• Klaus Meissner · Herrenberg, DE
• Helga Weiss · Eppelheim, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 10, 1995
• Grant date: Nov 26, 1996
• Expiry date: Apr 10, 2015

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S977/86
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Adjacent shaped grooves are placed in single crystal structure with great accuracy and known dimensions by a combination of anisotropic and isotropic etching to produce a scanning probe microscope calibration standard with fine V-shaped grooves forming a prismatically shaped ridge or blade between them. A probe microscope to be calibrated is used to profile the tip of the ridge in a number of places along the length of the ridge. With knowledge of the sidewall angles and tip radius of the calibration standard both the flat tip dimensions of a probe with a flared tip and the tip radius of a probe with a conical tip can be calculated from the profile they produce.