Methods and devices for extending a time period until changing a measuring tip of a scanning probe microscope
AssigneeCarl Zeiss SMT GmbH
InventorsGabriel Baralia, Rainer Becker, Kinga Kornilov, Christof Baur, Hans Hermann Pieper
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to methods and devices for extending a time period until changing a measuring tip of a scanning probe microscope. In particular, the invention relates to a method for hardening a measuring tip for a scanning probe microscope, comprising the step of: Processing the measuring tip with a beam of an energy beam source, the energy beam source being part of a scanning electron microscope.
Claims31
A method for sharpening, and/or thinning a measuring tip within a scanning probe microscope, including the following steps:
- a. producing a plasma outside of the scanning probe microscope;
- b. providing the externally produced plasma at the location of the measuring tip within the scanning probe microscope, including guiding the externally produced plasma to the location of the measuring tip of the scanning probe microscope;
- and
- c. sharpening and/or thinning the measuring tip within the scanning probe microscope by interacting the externally produced plasma with the measuring tip.
A scanning probe microscope, having:
- a. a measuring probe, a measuring tip and/or a measuring tip carrier with at least two measuring tips;
- b. a plasma source, which is embodied to produce a plasma comprising charged particles and radicals and which is arranged outside of the scanning probe microscope;
- and
- c. a pipe system, which is embodied to guide the plasma produced by the plasma source into the scanning probe microscope to the location of the measuring tip;
- wherein the scanning probe microscope is configured such that at least one of (i) a difference between a pressure at the location of the measuring probe and a source pressure of the plasma source, (ii) a difference between a pressure at the location of the measuring tip and a source pressure of the plasma source, (iii) a distance between the measuring probe and the plasma source, (iv) a distance between the measuring tip and the plasma source, or (v) a cross section of the pipe system is configured such that the percentage of particles of the externally produced plasma that are charged is substantially zero at at least one of the location of the measuring probe or the location of the measuring tip.
A method comprising:
- producing a plasma using a plasma source positioned outside of a scanning probe microscope, wherein the plasma at the plasma source comprises charged particles and radicals;
- providing the externally produced plasma at the location of a measuring probe and/or at the location of a measuring tip within the scanning probe microscope, including guiding the externally produced plasma to the location of the measuring probe and/or the location of the measuring tip of the scanning probe microscope, wherein a percentage of particles of the externally produced plasma that are charged is substantially zero at the location of the measuring probe and/or at the location of the measuring tip;
- and cleaning the measuring probe, sharpening the measuring tip, thinning the measuring tip, and/or cleaning the measuring tip within the scanning probe microscope by interacting radicals of the externally produced plasma with the measuring probe or the measuring tip.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.