Calibrating a high-speed contact-resonance profilometer

A European EMPIR project, which aims to use large-scale, 5 mm × 200 µm × 50 µm (L×W×H), piezoresistive microprobes for contact resonance applications, a well-established measurement mode of atomic force microscopes (AFMs), is being funded. As the probes used in this project are much larger in size than typical AFM probes, however, some of the simplifications and assumptions made for AFM probes are not applicable. This study presents a guide on how to systematically create a model that replicates the dynamic behavior of microprobes. The model includes variables such as air damping, nonlinear sensitivities, and frequency dependencies. The finished model is then verified by analyzing a series of measurements.