Scanning Probe Microscope and Scanning Method
AssigneeSII Nano Technology Inc.
InventorsTakeshi Umemoto, Norio Ookubo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
To realize to adapt to a shape of a surface, shorten a measurement time period and promote a measurement accuracy by setting a sampling interval in accordance with a slope of the shape of the surface and controlling a stylus in accordance with the interval, there is provided a scanning probe microscope, in which in scanning the stylus, an observation data immediately therebefore is stored as a history, the sampling interval in X or Y direction is set at each time based on a shape of the observation data, and the stylus is scanned to a successive sampling position.
Claims11
A scanning probe microscope comprising:
- a scanning stylus scanned to be moved in X and Y directions in parallel with a surface of a sample and moved in a Z direction orthogonal to the surface of the sample relative to the surface of the sample;
- observing means for sampling one kind or more of observation data at a time point at which the stylus is proximate to or brought into contact with the surface of the sample;
- means for controlling the stylus for scanning to move the stylus in a direction in parallel with the surface of the sample until reaching an observation position of a successive time in the X or Y direction after sampling the observation data, moving the stylus from the surface of the sample in the Z direction when the stylus is proximate to or brought into contact with the surface of the sample in the scanning, and stopping the scanning of the stylus when the stylus reaches the observation position of the successive time and sampling the observation data by making the stylus proximate to or brought into contact with the surface of the sample to thereby determine the observation position of the successive time in the X or Y direction based on a plurality of the observation data sampled at the plurality of observation positions;
- and
- observation data storing means for recording coordinates of the respective observation positions and positions thereof.
A scanning method of a scanning probe microscope characterized in comprising:
- a step of sampling one kind or more of observation data by observing means at a time point at which a stylus scanned to be moved in X and Y directions in parallel with a surface of the sample and moved in Z direction orthogonal to the surface of the sample relative to the surface of the sample is proximate to or brought into contact with the surface of the sample;
- a step of scanning to move the stylus to a direction in parallel with the surface of the sample after reaching an observation position of a successive time in the X or Y direction after sampling the observation data and moving the stylus from the surface of the sample to be remote in the Z direction when the stylus is proximate to or brought into contact with the surface of the sample in the scanning;
- a step of stopping scanning of the stylus when the stylus reaches the observation position of the successive time and sampling the observation data by making the stylus proximate to or brought into contact with the surface of the sample;
- and
- a step of determining an observation position of the successive time in the in the X or Y direction by sampling the observation data at a plurality of the observation positions and using the plurality of sampled observation data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.