Pacific Nanotechnology Inc.

Guide to AFM standards and references

XZ, YZ Orthogonality

An AFM may be calibrated in XY and calibrated in Z and may not be useful for making angular measurements. This is because the X-Z and Y-Z axis may not be orthogonal. With the orthogonality references, this problem can be avoided. This reference is fabricated by making a 1-D array of triangles in a silicon wafer.

Company	Standard/Reference
MicroMasch	Pitch = 3.0µm ± 5nm Triangle edge curvature < 10nm Top angle = 70deg

Figure 2: This AFM image of a triangle pattern that is etched in silicon is used for measuring the cross talk in the XZ and YZ axis of the scanner. Measurements from the line profile show that the angles are 55.16 and 55.59 degrees on the left and the right side of one of the triangular features.