Accurate Morphology Characterization Using Atomic Force Microscopy via Vertical Drift Correction and Illusory Slope Elimination

Abstract Thanks to the ability perform imaging and manipulation at nanoscale, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been widely used in biology, materials, chemistry, other fields. However, as common error sources, vertical drift illusory slope severely impair AFM quality. To address this issue, paper proposes a robust algorithm synchronously correct image distortion caused by slope, thus achieving accurate morphology characterization. Specifically, eliminate damage of abnormal points feature areas on correction accuracy, laser spot voltage acquired scanning process is first utilized preprocess height data sample, so obtain refined alternative suitable for line fitting. Subsequently, novel fitting based sparse sample consensus, which accurately simulates cross-sectional profile topographic image, thereby effective distortion. In experiments applications, nanoscale optical grating biological cell are adopted topography correction, verify proposed promote