Extending the capabilities of scanning probe microscopy for microroughness analysis in surface engineering

We present a method for extending the capabilities of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) methods in surface engineering by specific processing and interpretation of topographic data. The first part of this processing permits SPM measurements of different scan sizes to be combined with other microtopographical techniques. The result is a comprehensive description of the surface microstructure based on power spectral density functions. The second part consists of the extraction of a small set of characteristic parameters that objectively characterize the statistical properties of the surface and separate different roughness contributions.