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US 9,069,007 B2Granted
Multiple frequency atomic force microscopy
AssigneesOxford Instruments PLC, Oxford Instruments AFM, Inc
InventorRoger B. Proksch
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus and technique for extracting information carried in higher eigenmodes or harmonics of an oscillating cantilever or other oscillating sensors in atomic force microscopy and related MEMs work is described.
Claims17
A method of operating an atomic force microscope to determine properties of a sample, comprising:
- exciting a probe tip of a cantilever at a first frequency, using a first frequency source driving a first actuator for the cantilever;
- using a second frequency source at a second frequency to vary a potential of the cantilever relative to the sample;
- and
- detecting cantilever response information to the sample at both values related to said first frequency and said second frequency to determine said properties of the sample, wherein said detecting comprises measuring amplitude and phase of the first and second eigenmodes of the cantilever as measured characteristics of the sample.
1 more element
A method of determining both topographic and material dependent properties of a sample, comprising:
- exciting a probe tip of a cantilever at a first frequency at a flexural resonance thereof, using a first frequency source driving a first actuator at the first frequency, to drive the cantilever at said first frequency;
- using a second frequency source at a second frequency different than the first frequency, to vary a characteristic of the sample at said second frequency;
- detecting cantilever response information to the sample at both values related to said first frequency and said second frequency;
- and
- using said cantilever response information to determine both topographic information about a surface of the sample, and simultaneously to determine a material characteristic about the sample, wherein said detecting comprises measuring amplitude and phase of first and second eigenmodes of the cantilever as measured characteristics of the sample.
2 more elements
An atomic force microscope, comprising:
- a sample holder, with a surface that holds a sample;
- a cantilever, having a probe tip that is located adjacent said surface;
- a first actuator, which drives the cantilever to move a location of the cantilever;
- a first frequency source driving said first actuator, to drive the cantilever at said first frequency;
- a potential device, located to vary a potential of the cantilever relative to the sample, said potential device including
- a second frequency source varying the potential of the cantilever at a second frequency different than the first frequency;
- and
- an AFM detector, detecting cantilever response information to the sample at both values related to said first frequency and said second frequency, said AFM detector producing output information representing both surface topography of said sample, and also voltage dependent properties of said sample, wherein said detecting comprises measuring the amplitude and phase of the first and second eigenmodes of the cantilever as measured characteristics of the sample.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.