Drift and spatial distortion elimination in atomic force microscopy images by the digital image correlation technique

The characterization of nanomaterials and nanostructures on the nanoscale has been a tremendous challenge for many existing testing and measurement techniques. With the rapid development of microfabrication and nanofabrication technologies, appropriate and accurate tools for nanometrology and nanomechanical testing must be developed. In this study, a recently developed methodology for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image correction has been successfully adapted to correct the drift and spatial distortion of atomic force microscopy (AFM) images. Using this approach with a standard AFM sample stage, the errors in AFM images, artificial strains for zero deformation, have been reduced to 150 x 10(-6) +/- 1300 x 10(-6). When using a sample stage with closed-loop control, the method reduces errors to 200 x 10(-6) +/- 1000 x 10(-6), confirming that the SEM-based approach is capable of removing much of the distortion present in typical AFM images.