In-plane deformation measurement using the atomic force microscope moiré method

Abstract

In this paper, a new scanning moiré method is developed to measure the in-plane deformation of mica using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Moiré patterns are formed by the scanning line of the CRT in the AFM system, and the atomic lattice of the mica or high-orientated pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). The measurement principle and the techniques employed for grating preparation are described in detail. This new method is used to measure the residual deformation of a mica plate after irradiation by a Nd-YAG laser, and to determine the residual strain of HOPG under a tensile load. Some interesting results are obtained. The successful results verify the feasibility of this method for measuring deformation in the nanometre range using the lattice of the material as the model grid.