  A method of distributed calibration of a probe microscope scanner is
suggested which main idea consists in a search for a net of local calibration
coefficients (LCCs) in the process of automatic measurement of a standard
surface, whereby each point of the movement space of the scanner can be
characterized by a unique set of scale factors. Feature-oriented scanning (FOS)
methodology is used as a basis for implementation of the distributed
calibration permitting to exclude in situ the negative influence of thermal
drift, creep and hysteresis on the obtained results. Possessing the calibration
database enables correcting in one procedure all the spatial distortions caused
by nonlinearity, nonorthogonality and spurious crosstalk couplings of the
microscope scanner piezomanipulators. To provide high precision of spatial
measurements in nanometer range, the calibration is carried out using natural
standards - constants of crystal lattice. One of the useful modes of the
developed calibration method is a virtual mode. In the virtual mode, instead of
measurement of a real surface of the standard, the calibration program makes a
surface image "measurement" of the standard, which was obtained earlier using
conventional raster scanning. The application of the virtual mode permits
simulation of the calibration process and detail analysis of raster distortions
occurring in both conventional and counter surface scanning. Moreover, the mode
allows to estimate the thermal drift and the creep velocities acting while
surface scanning.

Materials Science;Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics;Instrumentation and Detectors