Cleaning station for atomic force microscope
AssigneeBruker Nano, Inc.
InventorsJohannes H. Kindt, Daniel Lyons, Charles Meyer, Russ Mead
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cleaning station for thoroughly cleaning the AFM component surfaces that are exposed to fluid during imaging of a sample supported in a fluid medium is disclosed. The cleaning station is designed to selectively expose the AFM component surfaces to cleansing agents, such as soap/detergent and water, plasma cleaning, etc., and cleaning tools, such as brushes, while protecting fluid sensitive components from exposure to the cleansing agents. The preferred embodiments are particularly beneficial for scanners in which the fluid sensitive components (actuator, sensor, connector, etc.) are integrated in the same device to which the cantilever holder is attached.
Claims12
An apparatus for cleaning a surface of an AFM component comprising:
- a housing defining an enclosure;
- an opening formed in the housing and into the enclosure;
- a seal supported in the opening and configured to engage an outer surface of the AFM component loaded into the opening such that a portion of the component to be cleaned resides outside the housing for cleaning using at least a cleaning fluid and another portion of the component to be cleaned remains protected from the cleaning fluid inside the housing, wherein the seal prevents the ingress of cleaning fluid presented to an exposed surface of the AFM component into the enclosure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.