Contents

Products and services for AFM, STM, and SEM

Analytical Services
   Scanning Probe Microscopy for Materials Analysis.
   Exotic curiosity or practical tool?
Calibration Specimens
Consulting
Training
Litigation Support and Expert Testimony
Calibration and Measurement Software
Used Nanoscope Equipment
Repair your NanoScope AFM.
   Large stock of repair parts.
Special Sale Items
Price List

Applications of AFM and STM

Optical and Magnetic Media

   CD
   DVD
   HD-DVD
   Blu-Ray
   Hard Disks
   Magnetic Tape
   More

Biomedical

Pharmaceutical materials
     Collagen fibers
     Collagen monomers
     DNA Plasmids
   Polymer molecules
   Orthopedic implants
   Opthamalic Devices
   Diagnostic devices
   And More

Chemical Materials

   Powders

Raw Polymers

   Naturally occurring (cellulose)
   Blends
   Copolymers
   Homopolymers
   Material domains

Polymer Devices and Structures

   Paper
   Packaging materials
   Cast, extruded, or molded polymers

Coatings

   Paint
   Paper finishing
   Can coatings

Electronic Materials

   Silicon
   Silicon Carbide
   Germanium
   Gallium Arsenide
   Wafers
   Thin Films

Automotive

   Corrosion
   Wear

Energy Technologies

   Corrosion
   Calalysts

New materials including ultra high strength magnets

Optics & Photonics

   Diffraction Gratings
   Modified surfaces
   superpolished optics
   Ultrasmooth surfaces
   IR
   Visible Light
   UV
   X-Ray

Telecommunications

Metals

Gallery of interesting images

Links

Surface Roughness Measurements
Have roughness and surface finish problems?

We can help.

Surface roughness is an important indicator of product quality for many industries.

• In semiconductor manufacturing, roughness of bare Silicon wafers is measured after polishing and cleaning.  Excessive roughness destroys the integrity of very thin layers, such as gate or tunnel oxide.  Roughness is equally important for other electronic materials, such as SiC (silicon carbide),  GaAs (gallium arsenide), and GaN (gallium nitride).
• In optics, surface roughness causes light scattering, which can be good or bad for the product, depending on the application.  For high quality X-ray mirrors, both the substrate roughness and the coating roughness are measured and must be minimized.  For diffusers, controlled roughness is important to achieve the desired effect; part of the control relates to the roughness power spectrum, so that the diffuse scattering is isotropic and achromatic.
• In the paper industry, surface roughness and porosity are critical factors in determining whether a paper can sell for $1/sheet (photo quality inkjet paper), $0.005/sheet (multipurpose photocopier paper), or somewhere in the middle.
• In general, the AFM demonstrates subtle, yet important, effects of surface treatment, corrosion and aging in a wide variety of materials, including metals, ceramics, glasses, semiconductors and polymers.

The AFM can measure surface roughness over a very wide dynamic range:  from Ra = 0.03 nm to 500 nm.  The combination of 3-dimensional visualization with quantitative measurement is powerful.

Silicon Carbide (SiC) wafer prepared by chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP).  5 um scan XY.  Z axis: 1 nm/div.  Roughness:  Ra = 0.049 nm.  Rq = 0.061 nm. The distinct ridges are atomic steps.  The fact that we can see them indicates the perfection of the surface.

Also: go beyond surface roughness with Rk parameters

We can help you control surface roughness to make your products better?  Contact us to find out how.