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Atomic force microscope cantilever as an encoding sensor for real-time displacement measurement

AFM cantilevers as encoder for displacement measurements is a novel attempt to extend AFM applications in the nano-metrology domain. The algorithm used to encode the displacement is based on the direct count of the integer pitches of a known nanometer scaled grating, and the calculation of the fractional parts of a pitch at the beginning and during displacement. A cross-correlation technique has been adopted and applied to the real-time signal filtering process for the determination of the pitch during scanning by using a half sinusoidal waveform template. Our prototype of the tuning-fork cantilever AFM is in service in PTB, Germany.