A SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPE AND A MEASURING METHOD USING THE SAME
First Claim
1. A scanning probe microscope, comprising:
- a probe section having a cantilever and a probe fixed near a tip of the cantilever;
probe section drive means for driving the probe section so that the probe scans a specimen surface by repeatedly being close to or in contact with the specimen surface and being apart from the specimen surface;
displacement amount detection means for detecting a displacement amount of the probe section while the probe section drive means driving the probe; and
signal processing means for acquiring shape information about the specimen surface based on the displacement amount of the probe section detected by the displacement amount detection means,wherein the probe section drive means includes;
a drive section for independently driving the probe in three mutually-perpendicular axis directions; and
a drive speed switch section for switching a drive speed of the drive section at least in one axis direction while the drive section drives the probe section.
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Accused Products
Abstract
It is difficult for a scanning probe microscope according to the conventional technology to operate a probe for scanning and positioning in a wide range and for high-precision scanning in a narrow range. A scanning probe microscope according to the invention uses probe driving actuators for coarse adjustment and fine adjustment. For scanning and positioning in a wide range, the coarse adjustment actuator is switched to fast responsiveness. For scanning in a narrow range, the coarse adjustment actuator is switched to slow responsiveness. Instead, positional noise is reduced and the fine adjustment actuator is mainly used for scanning in a narrow range. The probe is capable of not only scanning and positioning in a wide range but also high-precision scanning in a narrow range.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A scanning probe microscope, comprising:
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a probe section having a cantilever and a probe fixed near a tip of the cantilever; probe section drive means for driving the probe section so that the probe scans a specimen surface by repeatedly being close to or in contact with the specimen surface and being apart from the specimen surface; displacement amount detection means for detecting a displacement amount of the probe section while the probe section drive means driving the probe; and signal processing means for acquiring shape information about the specimen surface based on the displacement amount of the probe section detected by the displacement amount detection means, wherein the probe section drive means includes; a drive section for independently driving the probe in three mutually-perpendicular axis directions; and a drive speed switch section for switching a drive speed of the drive section at least in one axis direction while the drive section drives the probe section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A measurement method using a scanning probe microscope, comprising the steps of:
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driving a probe section having a cantilever and a probe fixed near a tip of the cantilever so that the probe scans a specimen surface by repeatedly being close to or in contact with the specimen surface and being apart from the specimen surface; detecting a displacement amount of the probe section scanning the specimen surface; and acquiring shape information about the specimen surface based on the detected displacement amount of the probe section, wherein the probe is driven to scan the specimen surface by switching a drive speed in at least one axis direction while driving. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification