Heterodyne profiling instrument for the angstrom region

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Abstract
An instrument for surface profile measurements without need of a separate reference surface is presented. Height variations of 50 Å can be resolved, while the theoretical height resolution is 4 Å. The lateral resolution is 3 µm, which also can be improved. Scan lengths of 100 µm to several millimeters are achieved, and no extensive alignment of the sample is needed. The instrument is a heterodyne interferometer, and the sample is used as a reference surface.