Resonant Biaxial Nanoprobe Utilized for Non-Contact Surface Measurements

In this work a non-contact biaxial nanoprobe for surface profile scans of macroscopic objects with 150 nm accuracy is presented. The biaxial nanoprobe oscillates in two directions to overcome the challenges of sticking in contact mode. Two electrostatic actuators drive the nanoprobe while two electrostatic sensors measure the position of the tip ball. The contact behavior between the tip ball and the specimen is determined by the contact stiffness and the contact damping. Dependent on the dominating effect the nanoprobeoperatesat semi- or non-contact mode, respectively. The aims of this paper are the investigation of the contact behavior, the proof of the independent evaluation of the two axes and the check if sticking is safely avoided