Large Scan Area Nanometer Resolution AFM Imaging

Atomic Force Microscopes have gained wide acceptance as a robust tool for metrology of nanometer and atomic scale surfaces. Nonetheless, AFMs lack some key capabilities that would benefit the industries and the scientific community at large. In this project, the limited scan range (<10x10 um2) is addressed via the use of an off-the-shelf xyz positioner with relaxed requirements in conjunction a novel fully integrated mems afm array. this tool capable producing images order-of-magnitude improvement scan area (>1000×1000 um2), bringing the (sub-)nano resolution AFM images into the millimeter range. As the first of its kind, such a technology has immediate applications in silicon wafer inspection. The robustness of the proposed system has productization potential, giving the partner organization first-mover advantage in the competitive commercial landscape of AFM based tools.

Faculty Supervisor:

Eihab Abdel-Rahman

Student:

Partner:

ICSPI Corp

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Nanotechnology; Advanced Manufacturing; Technology

University:

University of Waterloo

Program: