Data processing in nanoscale profilometry

New developments on the nanoscale are taking place rapidly in many fields. Instrumentation used to measure and understand the geometry and property of the small scale structure is therefore essential. One of the most promising devices to head the measurement science into the nanoscale is the scanning probe microscope. A prototype of a nanoscale profilometer based on the scanning probe microscope has been built in the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity at MIT. A sample is placed on a precision flip stage and different sides of the sample are scanned under the SPM to acquire its separate surface topography. To reconstruct the original three dimensional profile, many techniques like digital filtering, edge identification, and image matching are investigated and implemented in the computer programs to post process the data, and with greater emphasis placed on the nanoscale application. The important programming issues are addressed, too. Finally, this system's error sources are discussed and analyzed.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

1995

Author dc:creator

• Chiu, Cheng-Jung

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Kamal Youcef-Toumi.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/36677

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/36677