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Vibration distortion removal for scanning probe microscopes

  • US 6,178,813 B1
  • Filed: 11/17/1999
  • Issued: 01/30/2001
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1999
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An apparatus comprising;

  • a vacuum chamber;

    a sample holder disposed in the vacuum chamber;

    at least one spring connected between the vacuum chamber and the sample holder;

    at least one magnet disposed in the vacuum chamber for damping vibrations of the sample holder;

    a probe and piezo tube assembly disposed in the vacuum chamber for scanning surface features of a sample;

    an interferometer disposed in the vacuum chamber wherein the interferometer measures a distance between the sample and a point fixed with respect to the sample; and

    a data processor connected to the probe and piezo tube assembly and the interferometer;

    wherein the interferometer comprises a laser, a beam splitter, first and second mirrors and a detector; and

    wherein a light beam emitted by the laser is split by the beam splitter into paths 11, and 13;

    a light beam passing along path 11 is directed to the first mirror and reflected along path d to the sample where it is reflected off the sample back to the first mirror and back along path 11 to the beam splitter where it is split again into a first part and a second part;

    the first part follows path 12 to a second mirror where the first part is reflected back to the beam splitter and then along path 13 to the detector;

    the second part is isolated from the laser;

    at the beam splitter the first part rejoins a part of the light beam directly emitted by the laser that follows path 13 to the detector where the first part and the part of the light beam directly emitted by the laser interfere.

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