The profi le of the surfaces of two samples of monocrystalline silicon containing trapezoidal-shaped protrusions is established by means of three-dimensional reconstruction from stereoscopic images obtained in a scanning electron microscope and the average value of the height of the protrusions is determined. The results are compared with the results of measurements by an atomic-force microscope. The advantage in terms of precision of reconstruction for a sample that has been subjected to additional plasma treatment is explained by the formation of nanodimensional morphological features of the surface in the form of contrasting elements that increase the precision of coincidence of the images in the course of 3D reconstruction.The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is one of the most frequently used devices employed in obtaining images of surfaces that possess great focal depth and high resolution (down to 1 nm). Through the use of the method of 3D reconstruction of the surface of a sample from images obtained in a scanning electron microscope, it is possible to extract information about the three-dimensional surface structure of the sample from a pair of two-dimensional SEM images obtained at different angles of inclination of the sample [1, 2]. The method utilizes the phenomenon of the stereoscopic effect, which manifests itself as a consequence of parallax, or the variation of the visible position of an object relative to a distant background as a function of the position of the observer. It is on this that, in particular, the binocular vision of man and animals is based; that is, the spatial representation of the object is formed on the basis of two images (one from the right eye and the other from the left eye) obtained from different points of view (at different angles). The spatial (volumetric) perception of the observed object (stereoscopic effect) is formed on the basis of differences in the images. Such images are called stereoscopic images (in the case of two images, a stereo pair), while the differences in the stereoscopic images are the greater, the greater are the differences in the angles at which the object is observed (stereoscopic angle).
Reference gage calibration methods of probe nanometry systems are considered in this work. Existing methods for calibrating reference standards provide high measurement accuracy, but at the same time are distinguished by a high complexity of practical implementation, in particular, the interferometric method, or low accuracy, but with simple practical implementation. Therefore, the urgent task is to develop a calibration methodology that provides a sufficiently high measurement accuracy with a relatively simple practical implementation. The paper proposes a methodology based on the combined use of two methods: a comparative assessment of the step heights of the calibrated gages using one of the probe nanometry systems and the precision measurement of the step height of one of the calibrated gages by computer three-dimensional reconstruction of images in a scanning electron microscope. The components of the measurement uncertainty arising when determining the height of the steps of the calibration standards are investigated. The calculated value of the expanded uncertainty showed that the achievable measurement accuracy is comparable to the accuracy of the interferometric method with a simpler practical implementation. Practical testing of the proposed methodology has shown that the use of calibration techniques developed on its basis provides high accuracy and reproducibility of the results obtained.
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