I'm using Asylum Research MFP 3D in AC mode with a silicon nitride tip. I get a nice resolution and morphology but the height retrace shows that my sample thickness is ten fold larger than published values. Is this an issue with the tip broadening? How can I account for this deviation?
Dear Svetlana
Why don't you try the opposite mode; for example a constant-current mode , with recording changes in the distance between the silicon nitride tip and the sample surface.
Have you tried to measure another type of samples with known step height (calibration sample)?
Diana, I've tried using the manufacturer supplied calibration grid and the Z is accurate.
Mathias, thank you, you're right, z depth doesn't require tip broadening. Thickness is expected to be 2nm, no additional treatment or reconstruction was done in the paper I'm referring to (Eppell 2001)
Khaled, my material is very delicate...it's bone ash mounted on a mica disc. I think contact mode will change the properties or damage my sample.
In this case, try to use the followings:
1- Calibrate the AFM setup by using a well known thin-film sample with known feature, i.e., thickness, height , morphology, and so on.
2-Change the tip to a new one or electrochemically etched to remove any possible defects.
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