Within the European iMERA-Plus project 'Traceable Characterisation of Nanoparticles' various particle measurement procedures were developed and finally a measurement comparison for particle size was carried out among seven laboratories across six national metrology institutes. Seven high quality particle samples made from three different materials and having nominal sizes in the range from 10 to 200 nm were used. The participants applied five fundamentally different measurement methods, atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), small-angle x-ray scattering, scanning electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy in transmission mode, and provided a total of 48 independent, traceable results. The comparison reference values were determined as weighted means based on the estimated measurement uncertainties of the participants. The comparison reference values have combined standard uncertainties smaller than 1.4 nm for particles with sizes up to 100 nm. All methods, except DLS, provided consistent results.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) raises global interest through its unparalleled conformality. This work describes new microscopic lateral high-aspect-ratio (LHAR) test structures for conformality analysis of ALD. The LHAR structures are...

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Traceability of measurements and calibration of devices are needed also at the nanometre scale. Calibration of a commercial atomic force microscope (AFM) was studied as part of a dimensional nanometrology project at MIKES. The calibration procedure and results are presented here. The metrological properties of the AFM were characterized by several measurements. A method developed to calibrate the z scale by a laser interferometer during a normal measurement mode of an AFM is presented. x and y movements were studied with a laser interferometer and the scales were also calibrated using a calibration grid, which was calibrated at MIKES using a laser diffraction method. The advantages and disadvantages of the two methods are discussed. Orthogonalities of the axes were determined by calibration grids and an error separation method. Out-of-plane deviation was measured with a flatness standard. Uncertainty estimates for the coordinate system of the AFM scanner are presented.

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