From atomic force microscopy (AFM) topographic data, the power spectral densities (PSDs) of substrate and film surfaces were calculated over extended bandwidths. The results were successfully compared with PSDs obtained from angle-resolved scattering (ARS) measurements, while considering the overlapping spectral frequency range of both methods. The PSD curves obtained by AFM also proved to be a suitable tool for investigating the influence of the substrate on the surface topography of thin him coatings. A correlation factor quantifying the relation between the substrate and film PSD is suggested as a measure of substrate replication effects after thin film deposition.