A Training Guide for Understanding

the Basic Principles of Operation

For the VK Viewer

 Introduction:
What exactly is the
VK-9700?
 The VK-9700 combines the convenience of an
optical microscope with the analysis functions of
an SEM and a roughness gauge

+ +

* Non-contact 2D & 3D Measurement

* Zero Sample Preparation Required
* Material Independent
 VK-9700 Generation II
Main Features
Non-contact 3D
measurement

High definition and

ultra-depth

HD real-color
observation

Optical sheet (1000x)

HEPA filter (1000x)

Sandpaper (400x)
 Wide Range of Versatile 3D
Measurement Functions
1&2 VK-Analyzer

[1] Profile Measurement [2] Roughness Measurement

- Height - Shape angle
- Width -R - Line - Surface
- Cross-section measurement Roughness Roughness
 Wide Range of Versatile 3D
Measurement Functions
3&4 VK-Analyzer

[3] 3D Measurement [4] Automatic Width / Height

- Volume Measurement
- Surface
- Ratio of area to surface area Width Height
 Wide Range of Versatile 3D
Measurement Functions
5&6 VK-Analyzer

[5] Comparative Measurement [6] 2D plus 3D Measurement

Compare two target objects Set measurement locations in
and measure their differences 2D and 3D images
 System Configuration

1) Incident laser sent from control tower to the microscope

2) Received laser sent from microscope back to control tower

3) Digital signal sent to computer

 Advantages of LSCMs over other profiling
techniques (stylus, interferometers)

1. Steep Angle of Detection - up to 80º

2. Non-contact and requires zero sample preparation

3. Up to 18,000X magnification with 120nm spatial

resolution

4. Has an extremely high degree of material

independence

5. Ability to be operated without advanced training

 Outline: VK Viewer
Pre-Processing software
1) Determine mode of operation
1) Beginner Mode
2) Expert Mode

2) Set your Upper and Lower limits for scanning in the Z-direction

3) Adjust the Intensity of the Laser

1) Avoiding saturation
2) Using Auto Gain and Wide-Dynamic Range

4) Measurement Settings (Expert Mode only)

1) RPD
2) Mode
3) Area
4) Quality
1) Determine Mode of Operation
Beginner Mode
Providing working data in 3 easy steps
 Beginner Mode: Step 1
Adjust Stage: Manually adjust the Z-stage until
you can see a portion of the sample in focus.

Notice that most of

the ink on the paper
is in focus. You only
need to locate a
portion of the
sample in focus in
order to determine
the correct height for
the manual Z-stage.
 Beginner Mode: Step 2
Set height range: By using focus planes, determine
the tallest location of the sample (“Upper”) and the
lowest location of the sample (“Lower”).
Example: Setting Upper plane when out of focus

Either roll the track wheel

on the mouse or use the
arrow buttons provided
to move the lens turret
north and south to
determine the Z-range.

Tip: When using the track wheel , holding down Crtl will make the turret go faster; Shift+Crtl will go fastest
 Beginner Mode: Step 3
Adjust laser brightness: Increase the intensity of the
laser just below the saturation level throughout the
entire Z-range using the slide bar or the Auto Gain tool.
Too Bright:
Auto Gain will have
the software run Red Areas
through an algorithm to represent
automatically adjust the locations of
intensity of the laser for saturated laser
your sample.

Select Filter allows the Too Dark:

user to decrease the Not enough
magnitude of minimum laser intensity
laser intensity for very to provide
reflective samples.
accurate data
 Beginner Mode: Step 4
Start measurement: Once you have set everything up,
clicking “start measurement” will move the lens turret
to the Upper position and it will begin to scan down
through the Z-range at the specified laser intensity.
This dialogue box will pop up as soon as
you start the scan and will tell you how
much time is remaining.

Clicking Terminate will immediately stop

the scan and erase all data that was
previously obtained.

Result view type allows the user to

change the data set that is displayed.
 Beginner Mode: Step 5
Check measurement result: Allows the user to get a quick look
at the 2D photos as well as a quick rendering of the 3D model.
Toggle between the various
result view types to get a
glimpse as to how well the
system was able to scan the
surface of your sample.

Click save measurement

result if you are satisfied.

Optimal Texture Contrast

(OTC) settings can be
defaulted in the VK Analyzer
and will emphasize surface
characteristics when ON.
1) Determine Mode of Operation
Expert Mode
Providing more setup options for users who want to explore the full
capability of the VK-9700
 Expert Mode: Step 1
Adjust stage: Manually adjust the Z-stage until
you can see a portion of the sample in focus.

Notice that most of

the ink on the paper
is in focus. You only
need to locate a
portion of the
sample in focus in
order to determine
the correct height for
the manual Z-stage.
 Expert Mode: Step 2
Lens position: By using focus planes of either power source,
determine the tallest location of the sample (“Upper”) and the
lowest location of the sample (“Lower”).
RT3D stands for Real Time 3D
You can choose between
and will provide a coarse real-
the white light power
time 3D rendering of the surface
source (Camera) or the
after the Z-range is set.
laser power source
(Laser) to determine the
Z-range of your scan.

The laser power source is

particularly helpful when
looking at low-contrast
samples (glass, wafers)
 Expert Mode: Step 3
Laser intensity: Increase the intensity of the laser just
below the saturation level throughout the entire Z-
range using the slide bar or the Auto Gain tool.
Auto Gain and Select Filter
work just as they did in Wide Dynamic Range is
Beginner Mode. particularly useful when you
have various materials on the
Wide Dynamic Range allows surface or if you have varying
the user to work with two levels of geometry.
separate levels of laser
intensity. The system will scan
It is also recommended that
two separate times and will
take the best data from each you make the intensity of
scan before creating the Brightness 2 > Brightness 1
measurement file.
 Expert Mode: Step 4 (RPD)
Measurement settings: Determine the parameters for
the movement of the lens turret, the speed of the laser
raster and the interpretation of the received signal.

Manually adjust the Z

pitch(distance between data
points) from 10nm to 50um
Z
Expert Mode: Step 4 (Mode)
Surface Profile:
Measures one (1) peak that
has the highest magnitude of
received laser intensity
I

Z
Transparent (Top):
Measures only the very first
peak, despite magnitude or
number of subsequent peaks.
I

Z
Transparent (Film):
Measures all subsequent
peaks in order to quantify
thickness of clear materials.
I
 •Expert Mode: Step 4 (Area/Quality)
Laser Raster
High Speed:
Left-to-Right, skip a line,
Determine whether the laser Right-to-Left, skip a line
rasters across the entire field-of- 1024 X 768
view or just one line of pixels
Laser Raster
Super fine:
Left-to-Right, Left-to-Right
1024 X 768

Laser Raster
Super high definition:
Left-to-Right, Right-to-Left
2048 X 1536