Performance of a tilt‐compensating tube scanner in atomic force microscopy

Abstract

Abstract A tube scanner is constructed which avoids tilting of the sample surface when areas at some distance off the tube axis are scanned. Such tilt occurs with conventional piezo tubes, causes distorted vertical scaling, and limits the field of view to a few μm. These problems are partly overcome with a new design, which also uses a single tube, but with eight‐segmented electrodes. It can be thought of being constructed of two four‐segmented, conventional tubes, with the x‐ and y‐sections in the two parts being connected crosswise. While no additional voltage supply is needed, the tube is forming an s‐like shape, such that the bending of one half of the tube is compensated by a similar bending, but in the opposite direction, of the other half. Moreover, the displacement of the sample surface in z‐direction can be compensated quantitatively by suitable compression or dilatation of the tube, which can always be calculated from the known lateral displacement of the axis. The performance of this scanner is demonstrated on steps of a calibration replica.