Patent ID: 6869480

Claim:
A method to produce a product comprising a single-crystal device having a plurality of mesas and said product being a diagnostic sample with nanometer scale steps for the purpose of producing a step-height calibration physical artifact used for instruments selected from the group consisting of scanning probe microscopes, profilometers, and physical measurement devices, said method comprising the operational steps of: (a) selecting a single-crystal substrate from the group consisting of the hexagonal and rhombohedral polytypes of SiC; (b) preparing a planar first surface on said single-crystal substrate wherein said planar first surface is tilted by an angle of less than ten (10) degrees, but greater than zero (0) degrees with respect to the crystal basal plane; (c) removing material from said planar first surface so as to define a plurality of mesas with separated top second surfaces with characteristics of said top second surfaces selected from the group consisting of area, shape, and crystal orientation; and (d) providing crystallographically controlled formation of steps on said top second surfaces of said mesas by a process selected from the group consisting of (1) a step-flow etc, (2) a step-flow growth, and (3) a step-flow etch and a step-flow growth.