IDENTIFICATION AND VISUALIZATION OF QUESTIONABLE REGIONS IN ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPE IMAGES

An algorithm for the identification of areas that do not necessarily r epresent the true sample surface in atomic force microscope images is presented. These areas describe regions of the surface which might not have made contact with the probe tip during a raster scan, giving dat a which should be deemed questionable. Through the identification of t hese questionable data points, a more accurate picture of the sample c an be obtained. The procedure is applied to several atomic force micro scope images for the improvement of sample images and for obtaining ti p information. While the algorithm is applicable to all such images, i ts sensitivity to noise reflects shortcomings in the assumption made i n deconvolution. (C) 1997 American Vacuum Society.