The Challenge to Develop Metrology at the Nanoscale

Abstract

Since nanotechnology goods are manufactured and utilised by the community, legal metrology, human safety, and the environment demand traceable measurement techniques. This is the business of the international network of measurements called metrology. After 2017 the realisation of the international metre will be through the lattice parameter of silicon or another suitable crystalline material. Many NMI’s have developed traceable instrumentation systems primarily for AFM, but only partly for SEM and optical instrumentation. None of the existing techniques is able to meet the present requirements for reliable metrology of nanomaterials. However suitable reference materials are being developed alongside standardised sample preparation methods. Present second generation nanostructures are complex requiring multiparameter and ensemble measurements that AFM or SEM cannot offer. Ensemble techniques reveal the sub-nanometre detail required in the healthcare and electronics industry. The next generation of manufacturing in these industries will be three-dimensional complex sub-nm architectures, and nanometrology is currently being driven there.