AVS 47th International Symposium
    Processing at the Nanoscale/NANO 6 Wednesday Sessions
       Session NS+NANO6+MC-WeM

Invited Paper NS+NANO6+MC-WeM3
Traceability for Nanoscale Properties

Wednesday, October 4, 2000, 9:00 am, Room 302

Session: Nanomechanical and Interface Measurements
Presenter: J. Pratt, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Authors: L.P. Howard, National Institute of Standards and Technology
J. Pratt, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Correspondent: Click to Email
The accuracy of nanoscale materials properties measurements ultimately depends upon the accurate determination of many SI units. When measurements are pushed into the nano-scale, many difficult circumstances arise due to what may be effectively described as a poor signal to noise ratio. This talk will highlight work involving the integration of interferometers into scanned-probe microscopes and work in traceable, sub-micronewton force measurements. Interferometry provides us the means to realize the meter. Several applications of sub-nanometer laser interferometry will be presented in the context of scanned-probe microscopes. Atomic lattice spacings have been measured using interferometers, and the expanding role of the atomic lattice in scanned-probe microscope metrology will be explored. Nanonewton force measurements are the subject of a new NIST project with the goal of improving traceability below the micronewton level. The unit of force is derived from the SI base units. Extending force measurement accuracy to the nanonewton level can require a combination of difficult dimensional, mass and electrical measurements. Our development of an electromagnetic balance capable of interfacing to scanned-probe instruments will be highlighted. With this new instrument (and a related electrostatic balance), we will explore the practical limits of using an electrical representation of the newton while attempting to extend our traceability chain back to a purely mechanical realization of force using mass and the earth's gravitational acceleration.