Method and apparatus for molecular analysis of buried layers
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsSteven John Pachuta, Vivian Wynne Jones
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for the analysis of buried layers of an analyte material by: a) removing surface layers of said analyte material with an atomic force microscopy (AFM) stylus to expose a buried layer; and b) analyzing a buried layer, preferably for molecular structure. An apparatus is provided which encompasses both AFM and one or more additional surface analytical apparati within a controlled atmosphere under coordinated computer control.
Claims6
A method for the analysis of one or more buried layers of an analyte material comprising the steps of:
- a) removing one or more surface layers of said analyte material with an atomic force microscopy (AFM) apparatus to expose said buried layer;
- and b) analyzing said buried layer;
- wherein step b) comprises time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS).
An apparatus for the analysis of buried layers of an analyte material comprising an atomic force microscopy (AFM) device and a time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.