| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20080223119 | Fast-Scanning SPM Scanner and Method of Operating Same - A high-bandwidth SPM tip scanner is provided that additionally includes an objective that is vertically movable within the scan head to increase the depth of focus for the sensing light beam. Movable optics also are preferably provided to permit targeting of the sensing light beam on the SPM's probe and to permit the sensing light beam to track the probe during scanning. The targeting and tracking permit the impingement of a small sensing light beam spot on the probe under direct visual inspection of focused illumination beam of an optical microscope integrated into the SPM and, as a result, permits the use of a relatively small cantilever with a commensurately small resonant frequency. A high-bandwidth tip scanner constructed in this fashion has a fundamental resonant frequency greater than greater than 500 Hz and a sensing light beam spot minor diameter of less than 10 μm. Images can be scanned on large samples having a largest dimension exceeding 7 mm with a resolution of less than 1 Angstrom and while scanning at rates exceeding 30 Hz. | 09-18-2008 |
| 20090222958 | Method and Apparatus for Obtaining Quantitative Measurements Using a Probe Based Instrument - A method includes determining the point at which a tip of a probe based instrument contacts a sample and/or the area of that contact by dynamically oscillating a cantilever of the instrument in flexural and/or torsional modes. The method additionally includes using oscillation characteristics, such as amplitude, phase, and resonant frequency, to determine the status of the contact and to provide quantitative data. Static and quasi-static measurements, including contact stiffness and elastic modulus, can be obtained from the thus obtained data. Quasistatic measurements, such as creep and viscoelastic modulus, can be obtained by repeating the static measurements for a number of force profiles at different force application rates and correlating the resultant data using known theories. | 09-03-2009 |
| 20090249521 | High frequency deflection measurement of IR absorption - An AFM based technique has been demonstrated for performing highly localized IR spectroscopy on a sample surface. Such a technique implemented in a commercially viable analytical instrument would be extremely useful. Various aspects of the experimental set-up have to be changed to create a commercial version. The invention addresses many of these issues thereby producing a version of the analytical technique that cab be made generally available to the scientific community. | 10-01-2009 |
| 20100042356 | Transition temperature microscopy - A system and method for automatic analysis of temperature transition data over an area of a sample surface. The system relies on the use of a microfabricated probe, which can be rapidly heated and cooled and has a sharp tip to provide high spatial resolution. The system also has fast x-y-z positioners, data collection, and algorithms that allow automatic analysis of and visualization of temperature transition data. | 02-18-2010 |
| 20110061452 | Microcantilever with Reduced Second Harmonic While in Contact with a Surface and Nano Scale Infrared Spectrometer - Described herein are devices and methods for sensing pulsed forces. Some of the described devices and methods are also useful for measuring infrared absorbances and compiling spectral and chemical maps of surfaces. Also described are microcantilever having reduced harmonic frequencies when operating in contact mode. Some of the described microcantilevers comprise an internal resonator configured to vibrate substantially independent of friction between the microcantilever tip and a surface when the microcantilever operates in contact mode. A number of the described devices and methods are useful for monitoring pulsed forces with enhanced sensitivity. | 03-17-2011 |
| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20080276695 | NON-DESTRUCTIVE WAFER-SCALE SUB-SURFACE ULTRASONIC MICROSCOPY EMPLOYING NEAR FIELD AFM DETECTION - A method, and corresponding apparatus, of imaging sub-surface features at a plurality of locations on a sample includes coupling an ultrasonic wave into a sample at a first lateral position. The method then measures the amplitude and phase of ultrasonic energy near the sample with a tip of an atomic force microscope. Next, the method couples an ultrasonic wave into a sample at a second lateral position and the measuring step is repeated for the second lateral position. Overall, the present system and methods achieve high resolution sub-surface mapping of a wide range of samples, including silicon wafers. It is notable that when imaging wafers, backside contamination is minimized. | 11-13-2008 |
| 20080277582 | Closed loop controller and method for fast scanning probe microscopy - A method of operating a metrology instrument includes generating relative motion between a probe and a sample at a scan frequency using an actuator. The method also includes detecting motion of the actuator using a position sensor that exhibits noise in the detected motion, and controlling the position of the actuator using a feedback loop and a feed forward algorithm. In this embodiment, the controlling step attenuates noise in the actuator position compared to noise exhibited by the position sensor over the scan bandwidth. Scan frequencies up to a third of the first scanner resonance frequency or greater than 300 Hz are possible. | 11-13-2008 |
| 20090032706 | Fast-Scanning SPM and Method of Operating Same - A method and apparatus are provided that have the capability of rapidly scanning a large sample of arbitrary characteristics under force control feedback so has to obtain a high resolution image. The method includes generating relative scanning movement between a probe of the SPM and a sample to scan the probe through a scan range of at least 4 microns at a rate of at least 30 lines/sec and controlling probe-sample interaction with a force control slew rate of at least 1 mm/sec. A preferred SPM capable of achieving these results has a force controller having a force control bandwidth of at least closed loop bandwidth of at least 10 kHz. | 02-05-2009 |
