METHOD OF DETERMINING SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS OF PROBE MICROSCOPE NEEDLE POINTS Russian patent published in 2012 - IPC G01Q40/00 B82B3/00 

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: calibration surface is scanned. The shape and dimensions of needle ends is determined using a model of interaction of a needle with the calibration surface. The calibration surface used is a surface having elements of all dimensions which can be detected by the probe microscope with the analysed needle. During scanning, operating parameters of the microscope which characterise physical conditions of interaction of the needle with the surface are recorded. A set of models of the shape of the needle points is formed, for each of which a relief model is constructed based on physical conditions of interaction of the needle and the surface. That shape and those dimensions of the needle point for that model demonstrating the highest conformity with physical conditions of the scanning process are taken as the shape and dimensions of the end of the analysed needle.

EFFECT: method enables to measure the shape and size of nano-sized needle points, eg, needles used in a tunnel microscope.

3 cl, 6 dwg