highlighted area directly below shows the distance between the cursors. To
measure the width of a feature, position on cursor on each side of it and
read the horizontal distance shown in the highlighted
area under HORIZ.
Once positioned, the cursors will retain those positions for subsequent scans.
They will not move unless forced to do so by a change in scan length or they are
moved by the operator. If a batch of similar samples is to be tested, the cursors
can be left in position and the measurement can be read directly from the data
summary with minimum operator intervention.
4.3. Leveling the Plot
When the profile is plotted after a scan, a leveling program aligns the trace to the
two axes to facilitate accurate measurement. Leveling cursors, vertical lines
normally invisible to the user, are used to indicated two points on the profile
whose heights are equal. The leveling program re-computes the measurement
data to make these heights equal on the display. The rest of the profile is
displayed relative to these points.
The leveling cursor are normally located at the ends other scan. If one cursor is
on a surface feature higher or lower than the other cursor, the substrate
will appear tilted when the program makes both cursor heights equal.
The condition described above can be corrected by moving the leveling cursors
to places on the profile where the heights are equal. Ideally, these should
both be on the substrate, near the ends of the scan, although any equally high
points may be used.
If the message "SCAN MENU may now be changes" is displayed, press ENT to
terminate "Enter Mode".
1. Press the orange LEVEL key. The screen will show the leveling cursors
which are dotted vertical lines, instead of the dashed lines used for measurement
cursors. The following message will appear at the bottom of the screen:
"MANUAL LEVELING may now be changed".
2. Position the cursor so the actual profile height is the same at each cursor.
Ignore the indicate profile height. The leveling cursor are moved using the <- and
-> keys in conjunction with CUR as described in Section 4.2.
3. Press the PLOT or ENT key. The profile will be redrawn with the points
under the cursors at equal heights. The horizontal positions of the leveling cursors
are shown in the lower left corner of the screen.
4.4. Plotting Individual Profile Features - Zoom