Sensor having a cantilever
First Claim
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1. A sensor comprising:
- a tiny cantilever sized at the micron level made of a thin film, and fixed at one end, and having a free end portion;
a detection region located on the free end portion of said cantilever;
displacement-detecting means for detecting a displacement of said cantilever due to material acting directly on said detection region; and
calculation means for calculating an amount of the material acting on said detection region, based on the displacement of said cantilever which has been detected by said displacement-detecting means, thereby to measure the intensity of a particle-stream applied directly to said detection region or the thickness of a thin film formed on said detection region.
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Abstract
A sensor comprises a tiny cantilever of a thin film having a detection region at its free end portion, a detector for detecting a displacement of the cantilever caused by material acting on the detecting region, and calculation unit for calculating an amount of the material acting on the detection region, based on the displacement of the cantilever which has been detected by the detector, thereby to measure the intensity of a particle-stream applied to the detection region or the thickness of a film formed on the detection region.
44 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A sensor comprising:
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a tiny cantilever sized at the micron level made of a thin film, and fixed at one end, and having a free end portion; a detection region located on the free end portion of said cantilever; displacement-detecting means for detecting a displacement of said cantilever due to material acting directly on said detection region; and calculation means for calculating an amount of the material acting on said detection region, based on the displacement of said cantilever which has been detected by said displacement-detecting means, thereby to measure the intensity of a particle-stream applied directly to said detection region or the thickness of a thin film formed on said detection region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A sensor comprising:
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a plurality of tiny cantilevers made of a thin film, and fixed at one end, and having a free end; a plurality of detection regions formed, respectively, on those portions of said cantilevers which are located close to the free end portions of said cantilevers; displacement-detecting means for detecting a displacement of each of said cantilevers from material acting on the detection region formed on the cantilever; and calculation means for calculating an amount of the material acting on said detection regions, based on the displacements of said cantilevers which have been detected by said displacement-detecting means, thereby to measure the intensities of particle-streams applied to said detection regions or the thicknesses of thin films formed on said detection regions. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A sensor comprising:
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at least one tiny cantilever sized at the micron level made of a thin film, and fixed at one end, and having a free end portion; a detection region located on the free end portion of said at least one cantilever; displacement-detecting means for detecting a displacement of said at least one cantilever due to material acting directly on said detection region; and calculation means for calculating an amount of the material acting on said detection region, based on the displacement of said at least one cantilever which has been detected by said displacement-detecting means, thereby to measure the intensity of a particle-stream applied to said detection region or the thickness of a thin film formed on said detection region. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A sensor for measuring the thickness of a film deposited on a flat surface of a sample place adjacent said sensor, comprising:
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a cantilever made of a thin film fixed at one end, and having a free end portion; a detection region located on the free end portion of said cantilever and having a surface substantially parallel to the flat surface of said sample; displacement detecting means for detecting a displacement of said cantilever due to a film formed on the surface of said detection region simultaneously with a film forming on said sample surface; and means responsive to the detected displacement of said cantilever for determining an amount of the material forming said film deposited on said detection region to thereby measure the thickness of the film formed on said detection region and said sample surface.
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16. A sensor for measuring the intensity of a particle stream flowing in a given direction, comprising:
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a cantilever made of a thin film fixed at one end, and having a free end portion; a detection region located on the free end portion of said cantilever and having a flat surface substantially perpendicular to said given direction; displacement detecting means for detecting a displacement of said cantilever along said given direction due to application of said particle stream to the surface of said detection region; and means responsive to the detected displacement of said cantilever for determining an amount of the material in said particle stream acting on the surface of said detection region to thereby measure the intensity of said particle stream.
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Specification