Normal Force Calibration Method Used for Calibration of Atomic Force Microscope

摘要

Development of new technologies for microanostructures is connected with introduction of new materials or with application of already existing ones in micro- and nanoscale. Unfortunately material parameters in macro-and microanoscale are not the same. For this reason it has become crucial to identify nanomechanical properties of materials commonly used in micro- and nanostructures technology. One of the tests used for that purpose is nanowear test made on the atomic force microscope. However, to obtain quantitative results of measurements, precision calibration step is necessary. In this paper a novel approach to calibration of normal force, which is acting on the tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever, is discussed. Presented method is based on application of known normal force directly on the tip using special test structure. Such an approach allows for measurements of nanowear parameters (force, displacement) with uncertainty better than ±3%. Authors present and discuss different constructions of calibration samples. A comparison of described method with already existing ones is also presented.