Directional atomic force microscope and method of observing a sample with the microscope
AssigneesAgency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Trade & Industry
InventorKazushi Yamanaka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An atomic force microscope includes a vibrator which imparts vibration between a probe and a sample such that a relative vertical vibration and a relative lateral vibration are superimposed. A method of observing a sample with the microscope includes the steps of imparting phase-controlled vertical and lateral vibration between a sample and a probe so that the probe moves along a straight line or a ring relative to the sample, controlling the direction of the straight line or the ring, and measuring the amplitude and/or the phase of the bending vibration and/or the torsional vibration of a cantilever excited by the vibration.
Claims9
A directional atomic force microscope comprising:
- a sample stage,
- sample stage driving means for imparting vertical and lateral vibrations to the sample stage;
- a probe for contacting a sample mounted on the sample stage;
- a cantilever supporting the probe at its tip and adapted to scan the sample surface;
- a laser beam generating means for directing a laser beam onto the cantilever;
- an optical deflection detector for receiving laser beam light reflected from the cantilever;
- a controller for receiving an output signal from the optical deflection detector and outputting a control signal to the sample stage driving means;
- and
- a display for imaging vibration-and-friction force distribution and the shear elasticity of the sample on a basis of the output control signal from the controller.
In an atomic force microscope for imaging irregularities at a minute region of a sample based on force acting between the sample and a probe, a method of observing a sample with an atomic force microscope comprising the steps of
- imparting phase-controlled vertical and lateral vibration to one or both of a sample and a probe for producing vibration resulting in relative motion between the probe and the sample whose locus is a straight line or a ring,
- controlling the direction of the straight line or the major axis of the ring, and
- concurrently measuring one or both of the amplitude and the phase of one or both of the bending vibration and the torsional vibration of a cantilever excited by the vibration.
A directional atomic force microscope comprising:
- a sample stage;
- a sample stage driving means including a piezoelectric transducer and an ultrasonic vibrator and imparting controlled lateral and vertical vibrations to the sample;
- a probe for contacting a sample mounted on the sample stage;
- a cantilever supporting the probe at its tip and adapted to scan the sample surface;
- laser beam generating means for directing a laser beam onto the cantilever;
- an optical deflection detector for receiving laser beam light reflected from the cantilever;
- a controller for receiving an output signal from the optical deflection detector and outputting a control signal to the sample stage driving means;
- and
- a display for imaging the vibration-and-friction force distribution and the shear elasticity of the sample on the basis of the output control signal from the controller.
In an atomic force microscope for imaging irregularities at a minute region of a sample based on a force acting between the sample and a probe, a method of observing a sample with an atomic force microscope, comprising the steps of:
- bringing a probe supported on a cantilever into contact with a sample and vertically vibrating the sample at a frequency much higher than the resonant frequency of the cantilever to produce a large compressive force between the probe and the sample, for elastically pushing the probe into the sample;
- imparting lateral vibration to the sample while keeping the probe pushed elastically into the sample, for inducing in the cantilever torsional vibration depending on the magnitude of the shear elasticity of the sample;
- measuring the amplitude or phase of the torsional vibration, for determining the shear elasticity;
- and
- imaging the distribution of the shear elasticity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.