We propose a new in situ measurement system based on scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to realize spiral scanning of a micro-structure without removing it after fast tool servo (FTS) cutting. To avoid distortion of the machined and measured surface, the center alignment of the FTS tool and the STM tip was first implemented by an STM in situ raster scan of two circular grooves cut by the machine tool. To originally observe the machined surface, the trace of the STM tip is put in accord with that of the FTS by setting the same start and end points of cutting and scanning and the same feed rate, and both are triggered by the subdivided rotary encoder of the spindle of the diamond turning machine. The profile data of the in situ spiral scanning of the machined micro-lens array can be fed back to compensate the depth of the cut to guarantee sub-micron form accuracy after second machining. The efficient spiral scanning, proper matching and accurate evaluation results demonstrate that the proposed STM in situ measurement approach is of great significance to the fabrication process.

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A scanning tunneling microscope-based multi-axis measuring system is specially developed for the on-machine measurement of three-dimensional (3D) microstructures, to address the quality control difficulty with the traditional off-line measurement process. A typical 3D microstructure of the curved compound eye was diamond-machined by the slow slide servo technique, and then the whole surface was on-machine scanned three-dimensionally based on the tip-tracking strategy by utilizing a spindle, two linear motion stages, and an additional rotary stage. The machined surface profile and its shape deviation were accurately measured on-machine. The distortion of imaged ommatidia on the curved substrate was distinctively evaluated based on the characterized points extracted from the measured surface. Furthermore, the machining errors were investigated in connection with the on-machine measured surface and its characteristic parameters. Through experiments, the proposed measurement system is demonstrated to feature versatile on-machine measurement of 3D microstructures with a curved substrate, which is highly meaningful for quality control in the fabrication field.

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