Micro-displacement type information detection probe device and scanning tunneling microscope, atomic force microscope, information processing device by use thereof

A micro-displacement type information detection device, comprising:

• a substrate;
• a first cantilever having one end supported on said substrate;
• a second cantilever having one end supported on a second end of said first cantilever;
• a third cantilever having one end supported on a second end of said second cantilever, said first to third cantilevers being formed in a same plane and having a same layer structure comprising a piezoelectric material sandwiched between a pair of electrodes;
• and
• a probe provided on a second end of said third cantilever, wherein
• at least one of said pair of electrodes of said first and second cantilevers is divided into at least two pieces along the longitudinal direction thereof and said pair of electrodes are adapted to apply different voltages including a voltage in a reverse direction to portions of said piezoelectric material corresponding to the at least two pieces to displace said first and second cantilevers by a reverse piezoelectric effect.

An information processing apparatus, comprising:

• a micro-displacement type probe device comprising a substrate, a first cantilever having one end supported on said substrate, a second cantilever having one end supported on a second end of said first cantilever, said first and second cantilevers being formed of elastic structures having different resonance frequencies, said first cantilever comprising a piezoelectric material sandwiched between a pair of electrodes, and a probe provided on a second end of said second cantilever;
• a recording medium opposed to said probe of said micro-displacement type probe device;
• means for applying a voltage for recording information between said probe and said recording medium;
• and
• means for detecting the displacement of said probe, wherein
• a displacement signal outputted from said means for detecting the displacement of said probe is processed to extract a lower frequency component than the resonance frequency of said first cantilever, and said first cantilever is deformed by applying voltages to said pair of electrodes so as to compensate the displacement amount corresponding to the lower frequency component.

An information processing apparatus, comprising:

• a micro-displacement type probe device comprising a substrate, a first cantilever having one end supported on said substrate, a second cantilever having one end supported on a second end of said first cantilever, said first and second cantilevers being formed of elastic structures having different resonance frequencies, said first cantilever comprising a piezoelectric material sandwiched between a pair of electrodes, and a probe provided on a second end of said second cantilever;
• a recording medium opposed to said probe of said micro-displacement type probe device;
• and
• means for detecting displacement of said probe, wherein
• a displacement signal outputted from said means for detecting the displacement of said probe is processed to extract a lower frequency component than the resonance frequency of said first cantilever, and said first cantilever is deformed by applying voltages to the pair of electrodes so as to compensate the displacement amount corresponding to the lower frequency component, and
• wherein the displacement signal outputted from said means for detecting the displacement of said probe is processed to extract a higher frequency component than the resonance frequency of said first cantilever, and information is reproduced from the higher frequency component.