We give an overview of the design of a metrological scanning probe microscope (mSPM) currently under development at the National Measurement Institute Australia (NMIA) and report on preliminary results on the implementation of key components. The mSPM is being developed as part of the nanometrology program at NMIA and will provide the link in the traceability chain between dimensional measurements made at the nanometer scale and the realization of the International System of Units (SI) meter at

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... NMIA. The instrument is based on a quartz tuning fork (QTF) detector and will provide a measurement volume of 100 μm × 100 μm × 25 μm with a target uncertainty of 1 nm for the position measurement. Characterization results of the nanopositioning stage and the QTF detector are presented along with an outline of the method for tip mounting on the QTFs. Initial imaging results are also presented. © 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).