Design and implementation of a high precision profilometer

A high precision profilometry system was developed primarily for the inspection of two-sided sample specimens. Based upon system specifications and requirements, it was found that the most suitable profilometry technique was atomic force microscopy (AFM). The major components of the profilometer were: 1) a commercial atomic force microscope, 2) customized sample positioning hardware, 3) image processing and control software, and 4) system calibration procedures. The primary focus of this thesis is on the design and implementation of the customized blade positioning hardware, consisting of two linear stages stacked to form an X-Y table and a novel 'flip' stage which allows both sides of the sample to be measured by the AFM. The flip stage uses a kinematic coupling design to achieve the necessary positioning precision and stability. A homogeneous transformation matrix (HTM) method was developed for calculating the profiling errors due to stage positioning errors. The actual performance and calibration of the profilometer system was investigated through various tests, including: 1) measurement / positioning repeatibility tests of individual components, 2) measurement accuracy tests (documented in a separate report), and 3) other tests, such as determination of measurement sensitivity, drift rates, and system natural frequency.

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

• Kwok, Tarzen

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/1721.1/38196

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38196