Measuring and testing – Instrument proving or calibrating – Volume of flow – speed of flow – volume rate of flow – or mass...
Patent
1994-07-18
1997-02-11
Raevis, Robert
Measuring and testing
Instrument proving or calibrating
Volume of flow, speed of flow, volume rate of flow, or mass...
216 24, 216 99, H01L 21465
Patent
active
056023235
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method for reference samples for calibrating an amount of measured displacement, as well as to a reference sample, a measuring instrument, and a calibration method. In greater detail, the present invention relates to a manufacturing method for a reference sample which is capable of calibrating an amount of displacement resolvable by means of an inter-atom force microscope, to a level of 10.ANG. or less, as well as to this reference sample, a calibration method using this reference sample, and a measuring instrument for calibration.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventionally, the following technologies have been known as inter-atom force microscopes.
In such technologies, when scanning is conducted while causing a probe and a sample surface to approach one another, the very small inter-atomic forces operating between the atoms constituting the probe and the atoms constituting the surface of the sample are detected, and thereby, it is possible to observe with high resolution the extremely fine surface topography on a metal sample or an insulator sample.
The operating principle of the inter-atom force microscope is as follows.
In FIG. 6, reference numeral 601 indicates a probe having an overall size on the level of a few microns and having a pointed lead end; this probe comprises a material such as, for example, silicon nitride or the like. This probe 601 is formed integrally with a thin spring 602. Reference numeral 603 indicates a sample; such samples include metals, insulators, semiconductors, or the like. The forces operating between probe 601 and sample 603 vary as shown in the graph of FIG. 7 when the distance therebetween is altered. Here, the X-axis indicates the distance between probe 601 and sample 603, and taking the point at which this force is 0 as the origin, the direction in which the probe moves away from sample 603 is the positive direction. The Y-axis indicates the force operating between probe 601 and sample 603; the positive direction indicates a repulsive force, while the negative direction indicates an attractive force. An attractive force operates between the probe 601 and the sample 603 as they approach one another at a point at which the extreme surfaces thereof are at a distance of less than approximately 100.ANG., and a repulsive force operates therebetween when this distance is reduced to a few .ANG.. The size of the force is within a range of approximately 10.sup.-7 to 10.sup.-12 N. The repulsive force is converted to a displacement by means of a weak spring (10 N/m-0.01 N/m), and by means of this, the force operating between the probe 601 and the sample 603 can be determined.
There are cases in which an optical lever is employed as a method for detecting the displacement of the spring. A conceptual diagram showing the case in which an apparatus is constructed in this manner is shown in FIG. 8. The sample can be moved slightly and independently in each of the X, Y, and Z directions using piezoelectric elements 801 in the XYZ scanning system. The displacement detection system comprises a laser source 802 and a laser detector 803; these are disposed so that the laser beam reflected at the upper surface of the spring 805 which is formed integrally with the probe 804 is incidented into the laser detector 803. When a displacement is produced in spring 805 as a result of the force operating between probe 804 and sample 806, a change is produced in the path of the reflected laser in accordance with the displacement, and this displacement thus alters the amount of light which is incidented into laser detector 803, and the displacement is thus detected. In order to detect the changes in the extremely fine recesses and projections on the surface of sample 806 by means of probe 804 when scanning sample 806 in the X and Y directions, a method is often employed in which the displacement of the spring 805 is not directly measured, but rather, the sample 806 is moved in the Z direction in accordance with the recesses and projections
REFERENCES:
patent: 2715830 (1955-08-01), Lewis et al.
patent: 3505861 (1970-04-01), Schoefer et al.
patent: 4851671 (1989-07-01), Pohl
patent: 5030319 (1991-07-01), Nishino et al.
patent: 5166100 (1992-11-01), Gossard et al.
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