Atomic force microscopy has a tremendous number of applications in a wide variety of fields, particularly in the semiconductor area for the 3D-stacked device. Imaging three-dimensional (3D) structures with blind features has progressively become a critical technique. Recently, a 3D-atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique has been proposed to image 3D features, especially those having sharp apices, like silicon pillars. However, the scanning strategy has drawbacks, such as long scanning time, and unstable operation, based on the premature algorithm. Herein, an improved 3D-AFM algorithm is reported that overcomes the aforementioned problems by an intelligent 3D scanning algorithm that incorporates sidewall history tracking, troubleshooting for sharp sidewall and sticking, and reactive direction adjustment. The proposed algorithm enables the 3D imagery of ZnO nano-rods and silicon nano-pillars to be achieved by using a high aspect-ratio multiwall carbon nanotube-based AFM probe, without time-consuming disorientation. This study establishes a method to construct a 3D image of arbitrary shape in reduced scanning time.

中文翻译：

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基于石英音叉的具有盲特征的侧壁三维形貌成像

原子力显微镜在各种领域都有大量应用，特别是在 3D 堆叠设备的半导体领域。对具有盲特征的三维 (3D) 结构进行成像已逐渐成为一项关键技术。最近，已经提出了一种 3D 原子力显微镜 (AFM) 技术来对 3D 特征进行成像，尤其是那些具有尖锐顶点的特征，例如硅柱。但基于早熟算法的扫描策略存在扫描时间长、运行不稳定等缺点。在此，报告了一种改进的 3D-AFM 算法，该算法通过智能 3D 扫描算法克服了上述问题，该算法结合了侧壁历史跟踪、尖锐侧壁和粘附的故障排除以及反应方向调整。所提出的算法使 ZnO 纳米棒和硅纳米柱的 3D 图像能够通过使用基于高纵横比多壁碳纳米管的 AFM 探针来实现，而无需耗时的方向迷失。本研究建立了一种在减少扫描时间内构建任意形状的 3D 图像的方法。