Design of a thermally and mechanically stable metrological atomic force microscope at KULeuven

KULeuven is currently developing a metrological atomic force microscope (metrological AFM), with an aimed accuracy of 1 nm over a volume of 100 um x 100 um x 100 um. The long Z-range of this metrological AFM increases the measurement volume with respect to most existing metrological AFMs, broadening it’s application area. In order to achieve a high accuracy, requirements on thermal and mechanical stability become critical. This paper gives an overview of the steps taken in the general design to reach this stability. The design of the metrology frame is discussed more in detail.status: publishe