Atomic Force Microscopy: Step Height Measurement Uncertainty Evaluation

The atomic force microscope (AFM) enables the measurement of sample surfaces at the nanoscale. Reference standards with calibration gratings are used for the adjustment and verification of AFM measurement devices. Thus far, there are no guidelines or guides available in the field of atomic force microscopy that analyze the influence of input parameters on the quality of measurement results, nor has the measurement uncertainty of the results been estimated. Given the complex functional relationship between input and output variables, which cannot always be explicitly expressed, one of the primary challenges is how to evaluate the measurement uncertainty of the results. The measurement uncertainty of the calibration grating step height on the AFM reference standard was evaluated using the Monte Carlo simulation method. The measurements within this study were conducted using a commercial, industrial atomic force microscope.