US 8,151,368 B2Granted

Dynamic mode AFM apparatus

AssigneeJapan Science and Technology Agency

InventorsHideki Kawakatsu, Dai Kobayashi

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Abstract

A dynamic mode AFM apparatus for allowing high-speed identification of atoms of a sample surface, which comprises a scanner for performing three-dimensional scanning; an AC signal of a resonance frequency in a mode with flexural vibration of a cantilever; an AC signal of a second frequency which is lower than the frequency of the flexural vibration; a probe-sample distance modulated with the second frequency; a detector for detecting fluctuation of the resonance frequency; a detector for detecting vibration of the cantilever; and a detector for detecting a fluctuation component which is contained in a detected signal by detecting the resonance frequency fluctuation and synchronized with a modulation signal of the probe-sample distance, wherein an inclination of the resonance frequency against the probe-sample distance is obtained from the strength and polarity of the fluctuation component.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A dynamic mode AFM apparatus comprising:

(a) a scanner for performing three-dimensional relative scanning of a cantilever and a sample;
(b) a means for generating an AC signal of a resonance frequency in a mode with flexural vibration of the cantilever;
(c) a means for exciting the flexural vibration of the cantilever with the resonance frequency;
(d) a means for generating an AC signal of a second frequency which is lower than the frequency of the flexural vibration;
(e) a means for modulating a probe-sample distance of the cantilever with the second frequency;
(f) a means for detecting fluctuation of the resonance frequency;
(g) a means for detecting vibration of the cantilever;
and
(h) a means for detecting a fluctuation component which is contained in a detected signal by the means for detecting the resonance frequency fluctuation and synchronized with a modulation signal of the probe-sample distance,
(i) wherein an inclination of the resonance frequency against the probe-sample distance is obtained from strength and polarity of the fluctuation component.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.