Metrology systems and methods that measure thin film thickness and or index of refraction of semiconductor wafers with at least one deposited or grown thin film layer. The metal cation molar ration, defined as the number of moles of metal cations of the metal salt per BET unit area of the silica, is between 9. A target current value may be determined from a cycle-averaged current value of the member currents and a voltage error value of the voltage regulator, and each member current may be ramped to the target current value instead of the cycle-averaged current value when the voltage regulators are turned on, resulting in more stable and balanced current ramping. Next, a user is empowered to organize and manipulate the acquired images. Application of this method to a process for forming a pole tip for a vertical magnetic writer is also discussed.