Hitachi, Ltd.

Akira Nambu

Hideaki Koizumi

Tomihiro Hashizume

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto

Sanato Nagata

Seiji Heike

This sample holder for a scanning probe microscope is constituted of (1) a container that retains a liquid and (2) a flat-plate-shaped upper cover that covers an upper opening of the container and that has a narrow slit above the position where a sample is placed. In the upper cover, the slit has a slit width with which a thin film of the liquid is formed over the upper surface of the sample when the liquid fills the space between the container and the upper cover. The thin film of the liquid has a film thickness smaller than the distance between the upper surface of the sample and the upper cover.

Scanning probe microscope and its sample holder

Provided is a scanning probe microscope that takes measurements at high spatial resolution on physical information such as array structure of water molecules at a specimen-culture fluid interface in a culture fluid as well as irregularities of the surface of a specimen and composition distribution and array structure of molecules, proteins, etc. even in the atmosphere, an ambient air, vacuum, among others. The scanning probe microscope includes: a probing needle (); a specimen holder () in which a specimen () is mounted; an oscillator () that produces a periodic oscillation to change the probing needle position; a pulse oscillation type laser light source () that emits light toward a spot, which is put under measurement by the probing needle, on the specimen; a detector () that measures intensity of output light which is output from the specimen by energy spectroscopy; and a control device (). The control device decreases amplitude of the periodic oscillation to change the probing needle position by the oscillator, shortens a relative distance between the probing needle and the specimen, and synchronizes shortening of the distance between the probing needle and the specimen and emission of pulse oscillation laser light, thus optimizing efficiency of tip-enhanced detection.

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Tokyo, Japan

Akira Nambu