BAM‐L002—a new type of certified reference material for length calibration and testing of lateral resolution in the nanometre range

Abstract

Abstract A new type of test sample for the determination of lateral resolution in surface analysis is presented. The certified reference material BAM‐L002 ‘Nanoscale strip pattern for length calibration and testing of lateral resolution’ is an embedded cross‐section of epitaxially grown layers of Al x Ga 1− x As and In x Ga 1− x As on GaAs substrate. The surface of the sample provides a flat pattern with strip widths of 0.4–500 nm. The combination of gratings, isolated narrow strips and sharp edges of wide strips offers improved possibilities for the calibration of a length scale, the determination of lateral resolution and the optimization of instrument settings. The feasibility of the reference material for an analysis of lateral resolution is demonstrated for SIMS. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.