This application claims priority to US Provisional Patent Application 60 / 763,659 filed on January 31, 2006, and is filed in the United States on November 28, 2006. And claims its priority in connection with patent application 11 / 563,822 (name of invention “variable density scanning”), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

摘要

Systems and techniques for varying a scan rate in a measurement instrument. The techniques may be used in scanning probe instruments, including atomic force microscopes (AFMs) and other scanning probe microscopes, as well as profilometers and confocal optical microscopes. This allows the selective imaging of particular regions of a sample surface for accurate measurement of critical dimensions within a relatively small data acquisition time.