Tip artifacts in atomic force microscope imaging of thin film surfaces

We report a study of tip artifacts in atomic force microscope (AFM) images of thin film surfaces. Specifically, a troublesome artifact that occurs when an AFM tip images surface features with a radius of curvature less than the apex of the tip. These artifacts are not easily detected, since the affe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 1993-09, Vol.74 (5), p.3608-3610
Main Authors: WESTRA, K. L, MITCHELL, A. W, THOMSON, D. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties
Electron, ion, and scanning probe microscopy
Exact sciences and technology
Physics
Scanning probe microscopy: scanning tunneling, atomic force, scanning optical, magnetic force, etc
Solid surfaces and solid-solid interfaces
Structure of solids and liquids
crystallography
Surface structure and topography
Surfaces and interfaces
thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties)
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Description
Summary:We report a study of tip artifacts in atomic force microscope (AFM) images of thin film surfaces. Specifically, a troublesome artifact that occurs when an AFM tip images surface features with a radius of curvature less than the apex of the tip. These artifacts are not easily detected, since the affected AFM images are similar to those expected for a thin film with a columnar microstructure. In a study of 23 thin films, we found that for a significant fraction, the AFM image was affected by this type of tip artifact. In the worst cases, the AFM images consisted almost entirely of images of the AFM tip. We discuss a simple technique to determine the extent of these tip artifacts.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.354498