Sensor characterization by comparative measurements using a multi-sensor measuring system

Typical 3-D topography sensors for the measurement of surface structures in the micro- and nanometre range are atomic force microscopes (AFMs), tactile stylus instruments, confocal microscopes and white-light interferometers. Each sensor shows its own transfer behaviour. In order to investigate transfer characteristics as well as systematic measurement effects, a multi-sensor measuring system is presented. With this measurement system comparative measurements using five different topography sensors are performed under identical conditions in a single set-up. In addition to the concept of the multi-sensor measuring system and an overview of the sensors used, surface profiles obtained from a fine chirp calibration standard are presented to show the difficulties of an exact reconstruction of the surface structure as well as the necessity of comparative measurements conducted with different topography sensors. Furthermore, the suitability of the AFM as reference sensor for high-precision measurements is shown by measuring the surface structure of a blank Blu-ray disc.