Dektak

The old (Veeco) Dektak was removed from the cleanroom in the second half of 2022, and a new (Bruker) Dektak was installed in early 2023. The operating procedure is outlined here.

Click "Unload Sample" to make sure that the stage is moved to the best position for loading. Place your sample on the stage.
If your sample is large enough for vacuum, you can turn on the vacuum with the switch on the far right side. For small samples this is not recommended.
Click "Load Sample" to move the stage to the home position.
Make sure the stylus is positioned over the tower by adjusting the stage position. Adjust the stage position using the levers and dials connected to the stage. The levers are for coarse adjustment and the dials are for fine adjustment.
Click "Lower Tower" to lower the stylus until it makes contact with your sample. If it misses, that's fine. Once the stylus makes contact, it should pop back up to a neutral position.
Using the fine adjustment knobs, position the sample under the stylus. When the scan occurs, the stylus will pull back across your sample, so position accordingly.
Lower the tower again if you want to check the alignment.
1. If you need to align the reticle, you can right click on the acquisition window and change the reticle location in the software.
Use the "Measurement Setup" window to specify your measurement parameters. Recommended parameters are:
1. Hills and Valleys, 6.5µm (for really deep/tall features use 65µm)
2. 3mg of force
3. Scan distance is up to you (2000µm is a good starting point)
4. Scan time of 20s
In the top left, click the "Single Scan" button to run the scan.
Level the data by positioning the "M" and "R" cursors to be at the same real height, then click the option on the right for leveling.
Position the cursors to have a height difference. The "Delta" in the bottom window should tell you the difference between them
Raise the tower and unload your sample if needed. Otherwise, you can reposition and take additional scans.