Three-axis correction of distortion due to positional drift in scanning probe microscopy

Area of Science:

• Scanning Probe Microscopy
• Surface Science
• Metrology

Background:

• Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is susceptible to distortions.
• Piezo creep and thermal drift are common sources of SPM image distortion.
• These distortions limit the accuracy and resolution of topographical measurements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel technique for correcting SPM distortions.
• To simultaneously address thermal drift along all spatial axes and z-axis piezo creep.
• To enhance the precision and reliability of SPM topographical imaging.

Main Methods:

• A comparative scanning method is employed, reversing fast and slow scan axes for a partial re-scan.
• Positional distortion is modeled as a 3D low-order polynomial function.
• Correction coefficients are determined by minimizing the root-mean-square difference between the original and re-scanned images.

Main Results:

• The technique effectively corrects distortions from thermal drift and piezo creep.
• Distortion reduction consistently exceeds 90% in various tests.
• Achieved precision is often better than a single pixel.

Conclusions:

• The presented method offers a robust solution for SPM distortion correction.
• It significantly enhances the accuracy of topographical measurements.
• This technique is applicable to both real-world and simulated SPM data.