Low drift heater assembly and heating method of a metrology instrument for measuring a sample

The present inventors have recognized that more accurate measurements can be taken with less drift due to thermal expansion by precisely controlling insulated heating and cooling modules abutting one another in substantial alignment to rapidly heat a sample to be scanned by a Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) with minimal temperature variation. The heating and cooling modules can be "flat-packed," with parallel surfaces of each module in contact with one another, to more efficiently heat a sample that is positioned in axial alignment with the heating and cooling modules. This can allow heating the sample to at least 250 degrees Celsius in less than 5 seconds, continuously maintaining a temperature of the sample to within ±0.001 degree Celsius, and maintaining a drift of less than 0.1 nanometers per minute in the z direction.