Method of determining dimensions of features of a subsurface topography, scanning probe microscopy system and computer program

Abstract

The present document relates to a method to determine dimensions of features of a subsurface topography of a sample, the features having a spatial periodicity. The subsurface topography is obtained using scanning probe microscopy. The method includes obtaining measurement values of an acoustic output signal in at least N locations and generating a location dependent subsurface topography signal. The method further comprises providing an autocorrelation matrix by performing a cross-correlation of the subsurface topography signal in respect of each further location to yield the autocorrelation matrix having size N*N. Thereafter, the method includes performing an Eigenvalue decomposition for obtaining Eigenvalues of the matrix, and selecting a subset of Eigenvalues having the largest values. From these a frequency estimation function is constructed and at least one output value indicative of the spatial periodicity is obtained therefrom. The document also describes a scanning probe microscopy system and a computer program product.