| Bruker Nano, Inc. Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
| 20120131702 | Method and Apparatus of Using Peak Force Tapping Mode to Measure Physical Properties of a Sample - An improved mode of AFM imaging (Peak Force Tapping (PFT) Mode) uses force as the feedback variable to reduce tip-sample interaction forces while maintaining scan speeds achievable by all existing AFM operating modes. Sample imaging and mechanical property mapping are achieved with improved resolution and high sample throughput, with the mode being workable across varying environments, including gaseous, fluidic and vacuum. Ease of use is facilitated by eliminating the need for an expert user to monitor imaging. | 05-24-2012 |
| 20120105864 | OPTICAL MEASUREMENT OF LEAD ANGLE OF GROOVE IN MANUFACTURED PART - A portion of the surface of a cylindrical part with a machined groove is mapped with an optical profilometer and the height map is fitted to a virtual cylindrical configuration that best fits the data. Two-dimensional Fourier Transfer analysis of the map data is advantageously used to find the orientation of the groove on the part. The orientation of the groove is then compared to the longitudinal axis of such virtual cylinder to calculate the groove's lead angle. | 05-03-2012 |
| 20110167524 | METHOD AND APPARATUS OF OPERATING A SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPE - An improved mode of AFM imaging (Peak Force Tapping (PFT) Mode) uses force as the feedback variable to reduce tip-sample interaction forces while maintaining scan speeds achievable by all existing AFM operating modes. Sample imaging and mechanical property mapping are achieved with improved resolution and high sample throughput, with the mode being workable across varying environments, including gaseous, fluidic and vacuum. Ease of use is facilitated by eliminating the need for an expert user to monitor imaging. | 07-07-2011 |
| 20110107471 | SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPE HAVING SUPPORT STAGE INCORPORATING A KINEMATIC FLEXURE ARRANGEMENT - A scanning probe microscope (SPM) has a piezoelectric actuator-based tube scanner to which a probe is attached and which is moveable in three planes by the application of a voltage to the piezoelectric tube. A set of flexures flex with the displacement of the tube and strain gauges attached to the flexures measure the flex of the flexures to provide feedback as to the displacement of the tube during the scanning of an object. The strain gauges and flexures form a kinematic sensing frame or arrangement in which a single constraint is provided for each degree of freedom and in which the constraints are at least substantially orthogonal to one another. | 05-05-2011 |