METHOD OF MEASURING A TOPOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF A SURFACE OF A SAMPLE AND/OR A TOPOGRAPHIC IMAGE

Method of measuring a topographic profile and/or a topographic image of a surface of a sample comprising: a) providing an indentation instrument (1) of the type disclosed in EP 2 816 342 b) providing a sample (4) on the sample holder (2); c) positioning the indenter (5) out of contact with said sample (4) and in a constant position with respect to the headstock (3); d) positioning the topographic tip (23) so as to detect the surface (4a) of the sample (4) and positioning the reference structure (25) at a predetermined distance (d) from the said surface (4a) as detected by the topographic tip (23) by means of the feedback control system (31) and the second actuator (28); e) measuring the relative position of the indenter (5) with respect to the reference structure (25) by means of the relative position sensor (26); f) translating said sample (4) perpendicular to said longitudinal axis (9) while maintaining the reference structure (25) at said predetermined distance (d) from the surface (4a) of the sample (4), as detected by the topographic tip (23), by means of the feedback control system (31) and the second actuator (28) while measuring the relative position of the indenter (5) with respect to the reference structure (25) by means of the relative position sensor (26); g) generating a topographic profile and/or a topographic image based on the thus-obtained measurements of the relative position of the indenter (5) with respect to the reference structure (25).