Inclusion/Exclusion: Often AFM images have a few isolated features on a very flat surface. If line leveling is used, the features cause streak marks in the image (see Figure 5-2). This "artifact" can be overcome by using the inclusion/exclusion feature in the image analysis software. The operator identifies the features to be included or excluded in the line by line leveling. When the line leveling is done, the "marked" features are not used for the calculation of the polynomial line that is subtracted from the image.

5.1.2 Histogram Adjust

A histogram of an image is created by making a plot of the number of pixels in the image versus the color of the pixels (see Figure 5-3). The histogram adjust function allows the distribution of a broad range of colors across the entire color scale. This option can be used for showing surface features that are not visible when the color scale takes the entire Z range of the image.

Often after an image is histogram adjusted, features can be visualized and measured in an image that could not be observed in the original image.