• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.19-25
• /
• 2004

Pitch measurements of 150 nm one-dimensional grating standards were carried out using a contact mode atomic force microscopy with a high resolution three-axis laser interferometer. This measurement technique was named as the 'nano-metrological AFM'. In the nano-metrological AFM, three laser interferometers were aligned precisely to the end of an AFM tip. Laser sources of the three-axis laser interferometer in the nano-metrological AFM were calibrated with an I$_2$ stabilized He-Ne laser at a wavelength of 633 nm. Therefore, the Abbe error was minimized and the result of the pitch measurement using the nano-metrological AFM could be used to directly measure the length standard. The uncertainty in the pitch measurement was estimated in accordance with the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM). The primary source of uncertainty in the pitch-measurements was derived from the repeatability of the pitch-measurements, and its value was about 0.186 nm. The average pitch value was 146.65 nm and the combined standard uncertainty was less than 0.262 nm. It is suggested that the metrological AFM is a useful tool for the nano-metrological standard calibration.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.24 no.9
• /
• pp.68-75
• /
• 2007

The pitch and orthogonality of two-dimensional (2D) gratings have been measured by using a metrological atomic force microscope (MAFM) and measurement uncertainty has been analyzed. Gratings are typical standard artifacts for the calibration of precision microscopes. Since the magnification and orthogonality in two perpendicular axes of microscopes can be calibrated simultaneously using 2D gratings, it is important to certify the pitch and orthogonality of 2D gratings accurately for nano-metrology using precision microscopes. In the measurement of 2D gratings, the MAFM can be used effectively for its nanometric resolution and uncertainty, but a new measurement scheme was required to overcome some limitations of current MAFM such as nonnegligible thermal drift and slow scan speed. Two kinds of 2D gratings, each with the nominal pitch of 300 nm and 1000 nm, were measured using line scans for the pitch measurement of each direction. The expanded uncertainties (k = 2) of measured pitch values were less than 0.2 nm and 0.4 nm for each specimen, and those of measured orthogonality were less than 0.09 degree and 0.05 degree respectively. The experimental results measured using the MAFM and optical diffractometer were coincident with each other within the expanded uncertainty of the MAFM. As a future work, we also proposed another scheme for the measurements of 2D gratings to increase the accuracy of calculated peak positions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.84-91
• /
• 2005

We measured the pitch of one-dimensional (ID) grating specimens using a metrological atomic force microscope (M-AFM). The ID grating specimens a.e often used as a magnification standard in nano-metrology, such as scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thus, we need to certify the pitch of grating specimens fur the meter-traceability in nano-metrology. To this end, an M-AFM was setup at KRISS. The M-AFM consists of a commercial AFM head module, a two-axis flexure hinge type nanoscanner with built-in capacitive sensors, and a two-axis heterodyne interferometer to establish the meter-traceability directly. Two kinds of ID grating specimens, each with the nominal pitch of 288 nm and 700 nm, were measured. The uncertainty in pitch measurement was evaluated according to Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement. The pitch was calculated from 9 line scan profiles obtained at different positions with 100 ㎛ scan range. The expanded uncertainties (k = 2) in pitch measurement were 0.10 nm and 0.30 nm for the specimens with the nominal pitch of 288 nm and 700 nm. The measured pitch values were compared with those obtained using an optical diffractometer, and agreed within the range of the expanded uncertainty of pitch measurement. We also discussed the effect of averaging in the measurement of mean pitch using M-AFM and main components of uncertainty.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.18-22
• /
• 2008

The pitch and orthogonality of two-dimensional (2-D) gratings were measured using a metrological atomic force microscope (MAFM), and the measurement uncertainty was analyzed. Gratings are typical standard devices for the calibration of precision microscopes, Since the magnification and orthogonality in two perpendicular axes of microscopes can be calibrated simultaneously using 2-D gratings, it is important to certify the pitch and orthogonality of such gratings accurately for nanometrology. In the measurement of 2-D gratings, the MAFM can be used effectively for its nanometric resolution and uncertainty, but a new measurement scheme is required to overcome limitations such as thermal drift and slow scan speed. Two types of 2-D gratings with nominal pitches of 300 and 1000 nm were measured using line scans to determine the pitch measurement in each direction. The expanded uncertainties (k = 2) of the measured pitch values were less than 0.2 and 0.4 nm for each specimen, and the measured orthogonality values were less than $0.09^{\circ}$ and $0.05^{\circ}$, respectively. The experimental results measured using the MAFM and optical diffractometer agreed closely within the expanded uncertainty of the MAFM. We also propose an additional scheme for measuring 2-D gratings to increase the accuracy of calculated peak positions, which will be the subject of future study.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.21 no.11
• /
• pp.75-82
• /
• 2004

A metrological atomic force microscope (M-AFM) was developed fur the length measurements of nanometer range, through the modification of a commercial AFM. To eliminate nonlinearity and crosstalk of the PZT tube scanner of the commercial AFM, a two-axis flexure hinge scanner employing built-in capacitive sensors is used for X-Y motion instead of PZT tube scanner. Then two-dimensional displacement of the scanner is measured using two-axis heterodyne laser interferometer to ensure the meter-traceability. Through the measurements of several specimens, we could verify the elimination of nonlinearity and crosstalk. The uncertainty of length measurements was estimated according to the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement. Among several sources of uncertainty, the primary one is the drift of laser interferometer output, which occurs mainly from the variation of refractive index of air and the thermal stability. The Abbe error, which is proportional to the measured length, is another primary uncertainty source coming from the parasitic motion of the scanner. The expanded uncertainty (k =2) of length measurements using the M-AFM is √(4.26)$^2$+(2.84${\times}$10$^{-4}$ ${\times}$L)$^2$(nm), where f is the measured length in nm. We also measured the pitch of one-dimensional grating and compared the results with those obtained by optical diffractometry. The relative difference between these results is less than 0.01 %.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
• /
• 2005.06a
• /
• pp.645-648
• /
• 2005

Microscopy has enabled the development of many advanced technologies, and higher level microscopic techniques are required according to the increase of research in nano-technology and bio-technology fields. Therefore, in many applications, we need to measure the dimension of micro-scale parts accurately, not just to observe their shapes. To establish the meter-traceability in microscopy, gratings have been widely used as a magnification standard. KRISS provides the certification service of magnification standards using an optical diffractometer and a metrological AFM (MAFM). They are based on different measurement principles, and so can give complementary information for each other. In this paper, we describe the configuration of each system and measurement procedures to certificate grating pitch values of magnification standards. Several measurement results are presented, and the discussion about them are also given. Using the optical diffractometer, we can calibrate a grating specimen with uncertainty of less than 50 pm. The MAFM can measure a grating specimen of down to 100 nm pitch value, and the calibrated values usually have uncertainty less than 500 pm.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
• /
• 2006.05a
• /
• pp.289-290
• /
• 2006

In general, atomic force microscope (AFM) used for metrological purpose has measuring range less than a few hundred micrometers. We design and fabricate an AFM with long measuring range of $200mm{\times}200mm$ in X and Y axes. The whole stage system is composed of surface plate, global stage, microstage. By combining global stage and microstage, the fine and long movement can be provided. We measure the position of the stage and angular motions of the stage by laser interferometer. A piezoresistive type cantilever is used for compact and long term stability and a flexure structure with PZT and capacitive sensor is used for Z axis feedback control. Since the system is composed of various actuators and sensors, a real time control program is required for the implementation of AFM. Therefore, in this work, we designed a multi-axis control program using a FPGA module, which has various functions such as interferometer signal converting, PID control and data acquisition with triggering. The control program achieves a loop rate more than 500 kHz and will be applied for the measurement of grating pitch and step height.