A cross-measurement procedure (CMP) for near noise-free imaging in scanning microscopes

Most of the procedures to improve the quality of images in scanning microsc opy have focused the attention on the signal-to-noise enhancement of images without any interest in the system for image acquisition. We have develope d a procedure that does not produce artefacts but provides image enhancemen t in scanning probe microscopes that is based in the image acquisition syst em. The procedure can be considered a noise filter that can restore the ima ges without knowledge of noise type and of signal-to-noise ratio. We have c alled it the cross-measurement procedure (CMP). CMP can be considered as a mixing of software and hardware procedures. In fact, it is based on two mea surements of the same image performed exchanging x and y-axis and a filter that is made using both images. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights r eserved.