Patent ID: 7278299

Claim:
A method of processing vertical cross-section using an atomic force microscope (hereinafter, referred to as AFM) comprising the steps of: thrusting an AFM probe having a vertical surface or a vertical ridge with respect to a sample surface into a sample for measuring an indentation, which is more flexible than material of the AFM probe to form the indentation; observing the shape of the indentation with the AFM; measuring a mounting angle error of the probe, which corresponds to the angle displacement of the vertical surface or the vertical ridge with respect to a scanning direction of the probe, from the shape of the indentation; correcting the mounting angle error of the probe in advance by rotating a sample stage or an entire scanning unit of the atomic force microscope by an angle corresponding to the measured mounting angle error of the probe; placing the sample so that the vertical cross-section of the pattern of the sample to be fabricated is oriented in parallel with a scanning direction of the atomic force microscope; and processing the vertical cross-section of the pattern.