Methods and devices for correcting errors in atomic force microscopy

1. A method comprising:

applying a first voltage to a piezoelectric electrode on a tube scanner to vertically extend a probe tip towards a surface of a workpiece;

scanning the surface to produce a first scan;

offsetting the tube scanner in a horizontal direction; and

based on the first scan and horizontal offset, estimating a vertical offset permitting the tube scanner to perform a second scan of the surface while applying the first voltage to the piezoelectric electrode.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

based on the vertical offset estimation, offsetting the tube scanner in a vertical direction; and

scanning the surface to produce a second scan.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

based on the vertical offset estimation, offsetting the workpiece in a vertical direction; and

scanning the surface to produce a second scan.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

based on the vertical offset estimation, offsetting both the workpiece and the tube scanner in a vertical direction; and

scanning the surface to produce a second scan.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first scan comprises surface tilt information, and wherein the estimating step is further based on the surface tilt information.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second scan produces an image of the surface.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

subtracting the first scan from the second scan to produce a corrected image of the surface.

8. An apparatus comprising:

an atomic force microscope (AFM) system including a tube scanner having an electrode and a probe attached to the electrode,

wherein the AFM system is configured to:

apply a first voltage to the electrode to vertically extend the probe towards a surface of a workpiece;

scan the surface to produce a first scan;

offset the tube scanner a horizontal distance; and

based on the first scan and the horizontal distance, offset the tube scanner a vertical distance so that the probe can perform a second scan of the surface while the first voltage is applied to the electrode.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the electrode includes a piezoelectric material.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the first scan includes surface tilt information, and wherein the offsetting the tube scanner is further based on the surface tilt information.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the AFM system is configured to subtract the first scan from the second scan to produce a corrected image of the surface.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the AFM system is configured to estimate a vertical offset for scanning the surface to produce the second scan, based on the first scan and the horizontal distance.

13. The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising a step motor that offsets the tube scanner.

14. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the AFM system is configured to apply the first voltage to the electrode to vertically move the probe to contact a surface of the workpiece.

15. A method comprising:

scanning a surface at a first location with a scanner including a probe to produce a first scan containing surface tilt (φ) information;

moving the scanner a horizontal distance (ΔX) to a second location; and

based on the surface tilt information and the horizontal distance, moving the scanner a vertical distance (ΔZ), wherein the vertical distance (ΔZ) is calculated in accordance with a first equation:

Δ Z=ΔX *tan(φ).

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the piezoelectric electrode elongates a first vertical distance when the first voltage is applied to the piezoelectric electrode to vertically extend the probe tip.

17. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the electrode elongates a first vertical distance when the first voltage is applied to the electrode to vertically extend the probe.