Metrological atomic force microscope with self-sensing measuring head

A metrological atomic force microscope (AFM) adapting compact measuring head for the micro-nano dimensional measurement is introduced in this paper. Based on a novel self-sensing probe the head does not need any optical detector to measure the bending of the cantilever, significantly saving the working space to integrate with other measuring methods. This AFM operates in tapping mode and adapts frequency modulation (FM) mode to enhance measuring speed. A z-axis piezoelectric positioning stage (compact z-stage), with high resonant frequency, is responsible for the rapid motion of the sample in z-direction. A high-end digital signal processing (DSP) servo control system further guarantees high measurement speed. A nano-measuring machine (NMM) is equipped as the lateral moving stage to realize three-dimensional measurement. Three interferometers in the NMM enable the measurement to be traced to the meter definition. After calibration, the measurement of one-dimensional grating has been made. According to experimental results, the resolution of the AFM can reach nanometer level.