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Quantitative atomic force microscopy: A statistical treatment of high-speed AFM data for quality control applications
Dhilan S Devadasan1, Mark A Baker1, John F Watts1
1School of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK.
Ultramicroscopy
|May 22, 2022
Summary
High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) enables rapid, accurate measurements for industrial quality control. This study validates HS-AFM for quantifying silicon carbide fibre roughness, demonstrating its reliability for distinguishing similar samples.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Surface Metrology
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Traditional atomic force microscopy (AFM) faced industry adoption challenges due to slow imaging speeds and complexity, limiting resolution and data reliability.
- High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) overcomes these limitations with rapid frame acquisition, enabling precise and representative measurements suitable for quality control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the utility of HS-AFM as a quality control tool for assessing surface roughness.
- To quantify the roughness of silicon carbide (SiC) monofilament fibres using HS-AFM.
- To compare area and line roughness measurement methods and provide recommendations for quantitative HS-AFM applications.
Main Methods:
- Utilized high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to acquire large datasets (over 200 images) for roughness analysis.
- Compared area roughness (Sa) and line roughness (Ra) parameters for quantifying SiC fibre surface topography.
- Performed repeated measurements and analysis to validate the robustness and reliability of the HS-AFM methodology.
Main Results:
- HS-AFM successfully quantified the roughness of ten SiC fibre samples, with Sa values ranging from 34 nm to 53 nm.
- Area roughness (Sa) provided higher statistical significance compared to line roughness.
- Small measurement uncertainties, due to extensive data collection, allowed for clear differentiation of roughness between highly similar SiC fibres.
Conclusions:
- HS-AFM is a robust and reliable tool for quantitative quality control in industry, capable of distinguishing subtle surface variations.
- The study provides a validated methodology for using HS-AFM to assess surface roughness, including determining the minimum data required for statistical significance.
- Recommendations are offered for adapting HS-AFM for quantitative measurements on diverse samples, facilitating broader industrial application.
