Roughness-driven compressive sensing AFM for accurate nanoscale surface characterization in functional material systems

Surface roughness significantly affects the functional performance of advanced materials, necessitating accurate nanoscale characterization via Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). However, AFM’s high sampling requirements prolong measurement time and accelerate probe wear. To enhance efficiency, compress...

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Main Authors: Yusong Li, Jialin Shi, Gongxin Li, Shenghang Zhai, Xiao Li, Boyu Wu, Chanmin Su, Lianqing Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Materials & Design
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127525007713
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author Yusong Li
Jialin Shi
Gongxin Li
Shenghang Zhai
Xiao Li
Boyu Wu
Chanmin Su
Lianqing Liu
author_facet Yusong Li
Jialin Shi
Gongxin Li
Shenghang Zhai
Xiao Li
Boyu Wu
Chanmin Su
Lianqing Liu
author_sort Yusong Li
collection DOAJ
description Surface roughness significantly affects the functional performance of advanced materials, necessitating accurate nanoscale characterization via Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). However, AFM’s high sampling requirements prolong measurement time and accelerate probe wear. To enhance efficiency, compressed sensing (CS) has been applied to improve AFM sampling strategies. Our literature review indicates that existing CS approaches primarily target high-quality image reconstruction, neglecting the accurate recovery of surface roughness information—a key objective in precision surface metrology. In this study, we propose a roughness-driven CS strategy to boost the efficiency and precision of AFM-based roughness measurements. We also theoretically demonstrate a nonlinear relationship between conventional CS evaluation metrics and surface roughness. Experimental results show that, compared to traditional image-based CS strategies, our method improves nanoscale roughness measurement accuracy by more than 80 %. This advancement not only reduces sampling requirements but also maintains high fidelity in roughness characterization, offering a robust tool for precise and efficient nanoscale analysis. Our approach supports performance-driven development of functional materials in fields such as microelectronics, optics, and nanomanufacturing.
format Article
id doaj-art-2f148a4c52eb4c2e92543b9d1913c319
institution Kabale University
issn 0264-1275
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Materials & Design
spelling doaj-art-2f148a4c52eb4c2e92543b9d1913c3192025-08-20T03:33:37ZengElsevierMaterials & Design0264-12752025-08-0125611435110.1016/j.matdes.2025.114351Roughness-driven compressive sensing AFM for accurate nanoscale surface characterization in functional material systemsYusong Li0Jialin Shi1Gongxin Li2Shenghang Zhai3Xiao Li4Boyu Wu5Chanmin Su6Lianqing Liu7State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China; Corresponding author.Key Laboratory of Advanced Process Control for Light Industry (Ministry of Education), Institute of Automation, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaInnovation Institute of Intelligent Robotics Shenyang Co., Ltd, ChinaInnovation Institute of Intelligent Robotics Shenyang Co., Ltd, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, ChinaSurface roughness significantly affects the functional performance of advanced materials, necessitating accurate nanoscale characterization via Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). However, AFM’s high sampling requirements prolong measurement time and accelerate probe wear. To enhance efficiency, compressed sensing (CS) has been applied to improve AFM sampling strategies. Our literature review indicates that existing CS approaches primarily target high-quality image reconstruction, neglecting the accurate recovery of surface roughness information—a key objective in precision surface metrology. In this study, we propose a roughness-driven CS strategy to boost the efficiency and precision of AFM-based roughness measurements. We also theoretically demonstrate a nonlinear relationship between conventional CS evaluation metrics and surface roughness. Experimental results show that, compared to traditional image-based CS strategies, our method improves nanoscale roughness measurement accuracy by more than 80 %. This advancement not only reduces sampling requirements but also maintains high fidelity in roughness characterization, offering a robust tool for precise and efficient nanoscale analysis. Our approach supports performance-driven development of functional materials in fields such as microelectronics, optics, and nanomanufacturing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127525007713Nanoscale surface roughnessAtomic force microscope (AFM)Compressive sensingImproved efficiencyHigh accuracy
spellingShingle Yusong Li
Jialin Shi
Gongxin Li
Shenghang Zhai
Xiao Li
Boyu Wu
Chanmin Su
Lianqing Liu
Roughness-driven compressive sensing AFM for accurate nanoscale surface characterization in functional material systems
Materials & Design
Nanoscale surface roughness
Atomic force microscope (AFM)
Compressive sensing
Improved efficiency
High accuracy
title Roughness-driven compressive sensing AFM for accurate nanoscale surface characterization in functional material systems
title_full Roughness-driven compressive sensing AFM for accurate nanoscale surface characterization in functional material systems
title_fullStr Roughness-driven compressive sensing AFM for accurate nanoscale surface characterization in functional material systems
title_full_unstemmed Roughness-driven compressive sensing AFM for accurate nanoscale surface characterization in functional material systems
title_short Roughness-driven compressive sensing AFM for accurate nanoscale surface characterization in functional material systems
title_sort roughness driven compressive sensing afm for accurate nanoscale surface characterization in functional material systems
topic Nanoscale surface roughness
Atomic force microscope (AFM)
Compressive sensing
Improved efficiency
High accuracy
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127525007713
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