Method of and system for refurbishing a probe for use in a scanning probe microscopy device, and a computer program product for performing said method

A system for refurbishing a used or damaged probe for use in a scanning probe microscopy device, the probe including a cantilever and a probe tip, wherein the system comprises a probe capture unit for capturing the probe, an imaging unit for obtaining an image of the probe, and a controller cooperating with a memory or data storage, wherein the controller is configured for performing the steps of:

• determining an existing probe structure of the probe and mapping the existing probe structure for obtaining existing probe structure data;
• identifying, based on the existing probe structure data, a deviation from an original probe structure of the probe prior to said using or damaging thereof;
• determining, based on the deviation, structural modification data indicative of a structural modification for modifying the probe for enabling said refurbishing thereof;
• wherein the system further comprises a precision material deposition unit configured for performing said structural modification,
• wherein the controller is configured for cooperating with the precision material deposition unit or precision material removal unit for modifying, in accordance with the structural modification data, the existing probe structure by the precision material deposition unit, for performing said refurbishing of the probe.