A topographic profile of a structure is generated using atomic force
microscopy. The structure is scanned such that an area of interest of the
structure is scanned at a higher resolution than portions of the
structure outside of the area of interest. An profile of the structure is
then generated based on the scan. To correct skew and tilt of the
profile, a first feature of the profile is aligned with a first axis of a
coordinate system. The profile is then manipulated to align a second
feature of the profile with a second axis of the coordinate system.