Conclusion

The hybrid metrology approach enables three-dimensional characterization of nanoparticle populations with controlled uncertainties. To demonstrate the feasibility of the approach, several populations of theoretically spherical silica nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 15 nm to 100 nm were analyzed. However, this method, which is simple to implement thanks to the use of a repositioning substrate, revealed a difference in the shape of the silica particles as a function of their size. This difference is expressed by the presence of a systematic discrepancy between AFM and SEM measurements for the smallest particles, and highlights the complementarity between these two techniques for quantitative three-dimensional characterization of nanoparticles.

However, AFM and SEM techniques give two independent measurements: it is impossible to measure the same dimension...