1 Scope
This document specifies methods for characterizing and calibrating the scan axes of
scanning-probe microscopes (SPMs) for measuring geometric quantities at the highest
level. It is applicable to those providing further calibrations and is not intended
for general industry use, where a lower level of calibration might be required.
This document has the following objectives:
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— to increase the comparability of measurements of geometrical quantities made using SPMs by traceability to the unit of length;
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— to define the minimum requirements for the calibration process and the conditions of acceptance;
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— to ascertain the instrument's ability to be calibrated (assignment of a “calibrate-ability” category to the instrument);
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— to define the scope of the calibration (conditions of measurement and environments, ranges of measurement, temporal stability, transferability);
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— to provide a model, in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 98‑3, to calculate the uncertainty for simple geometrical quantities in measurements using an SPM;
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— to define the requirements for reporting results.