A Versatile 3d Calibration Object for Various Micro-range Measurement Methods

We present a new micrometer-sized 3D calibration structure containing nanomarkers that serve as well distinguishable reference points for the calibration of various 3D micro-range measurement methods, e.g. scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and environmental SEM (ESEM). The 3D calibration object was fabricated using gas-assisted focused ion beam (FIB) metal deposition. This technique proved to be a valuable tool, as it principally allows the construction of variously shaped microstructures that can be perfectly adapted to the special specifications of the sensor to be calibrated. The spatial data of the 38 non-symmetrically distributed nanomarkers were obtained by high-precision atomic force microscopy (AFM). The accuracy of the nanomarker measurement is shown and the efficiency of the calibration is demonstrated by triangulation and spatial intersection. Additionally, alternative micro-range measurement methods, e.g. confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scanning profilometry were tested for possible application of the calibration structure. * Corresponding author.