Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Akira Yagi

Takao Okada

Hirofumi Miyamoto

Seizo Morita

Nobuo Mikoshiba

Akitoshi Toda

Tsugiko Takase

Shuichi Ito

Hiroyuki Nishida

Shuzo Mishima

Hisanari Shimazu

Hiroko Ota

Yasuhiro Sugawara

Takaaki Takenobu

Disclosed is a scanning probe microscope using fluorescent light, comprising a lever section including a probe, an actuator for moving the probe and a sample relative to each other, a light source unit arranged at a position suitable for permitting at least one of the probe and the sample to be irradiated with light having a first wavelength or a second wavelength, which is emitted from the light source unit, and a detecting unit arranged at a position suitable for optically detecting the positional relationship between the probe and the sample, wherein a first fluorescent material, which emits light having the second wavelength when excited with light of the first wavelength, is imparted to one of the probe and the sample, a second fluorescent material, which emits light having a third wavelength when excited with light having the second wavelength, is imparted to the other of the probe and the sample, and the detecting unit optically detects the positional relationship between the probe and the sample based on the light having the third wavelength.

Scanning probe microscope using fluorescent light

A scanning probe microscope includes a cantilever having a probe on its free end, a displacement measuring unit for measuring a displacement of the cantilever caused by an interaction between a specimen and the probe, and a tube actuator for supporting the cantilever and the displacement measuring unit and controlling the position of the probe in a three-dimensional manner, the actuator and the probe being arranged coaxial with each other. The apparatus also includes a special microscopic optical system including a pupil modulating element and an oblique illumination optical system for obliquely illuminating the specimen, which together constitute an optical microscope capable of high-power observation of optically transparent specimens.

Scanning probe microscope incorporating an optical microscope

A scanner system includes, a tube type piezoelectric scanner having a free end displaceable in X, Y and Z directions and supporting a sample at its free end, a driven for applying voltages to the scanner for displacing the sample an optical unit for optically detecting the X, Y and Z direction displacements of the free end and for outputting corresponding displacement signals, and a scan controller for computing correction signals based on the displacement signals so as to apply voltages which correct the voltage-displacement nonlinear characteristic of the scanner to the scanner and for supplying them to the driver.

Scanner system

A scanning method with a scanning probe microscope, wherein the scan time and the timing of data measurement are optimized on the basis of transient characteristics of vibration of the cantilever, and the ruggedness of the sample surface and the influence of the magnetic force inclination are measured in one scanning process, at every point of measurement, using a magnetic probe, so that the ruggedness of the sample surface and the magnetic force distribution are separately detected.

Scanning method with scanning probe microscope

A scanner system includes, a tube type piezoelectric scanner having a free end displaceable in X, Y and Z directions and supporting a sample at its free end, a driver for applying voltages to the scanner for displacing the sample, an optical unit for optically detecting the X, Y and Z direction displacements of the free end and for outputting corresponding displacement signals, and a scan controller for computing correction signals based on the displacement signals so as to apply voltages which correct the voltage-displacement nonlinear characteristic of the scanner to the scanner and for supplying them to the driver.

A scanning tunneling potentio-spectroscopic microscope, includes a conductive probe and a circuit for selectively applying one of first, second and third bias voltages to a sample. A tunnel current flowing between the probe and sample is detected, and a tunnel current signal is produced upon detection thereof. A servo circuit controls a distance between the probe and sample on the basis of the tunnel current signal by producing a servo signal as a feedback signal. A hold circuit switches the servo circuit between operating and non-operating states. Configuration data on a surface of the sample is obtained, on the basis of the servo signal, with the first bias voltage applied to the sample and with the servo circuit in the operating state. A first dependence of the tunnel current on the bias voltage is obtained, from the tunnel current signal and the second bias voltage, with the second bias voltage applied to the sample and with the servo circuit in the non-operating state. A second dependence of the tunnel current on the bias voltage is obtained from the tunnel current signal and the third bias voltage, with the third bias voltage applied to the sample and with the servo circuit in the non-operating state. Electron state data is obtained on the basis of the first dependence, and potential data is obtained on the basis of the first and second dependencies.

Scanning tunneling potentio-spectroscopic microscope and a data

A sample is mounted on a piezoelectric actuator and a cantilever provided with a probe is located thereabove. A bias voltage applying circuit supplies the sample with a potential difference V.sub.T and sends out a current signal I.sub.T representing the electric current flowing between the sample and the probe to a current detecting circuit. The current signal is converted into logI.sub.T in a logarithmic amplifier and given to a differential amplifier. A displacement detecting circuit is arranged above the cantilever for detecting the displacement of the free end of the cantilever due to the atomic force appearing between the sample and the probe and for sending a displacement signal Z.sub.TIP representing the displacement to another differential amplifier. The signals from the differential amplifiers are respectively fed to terminals of an analog switch. The analog switch selects a signal to be fed to a control circuit, which control circuit generates and transmits a signal V.sub.Z as a function of the signal it receives, thereby controlling the actuator.

Scanning probe microscope

A scanning probe microscope comprises a cantilever having a conductive probe positioned near a sample, an actuator for moving the sample to and away from the probe, a circuit for applying a bias voltage between the probe and sample to produce a tunnel current therebetween, a circuit for detecting the produced tunnel current, a circuit for detecting the amount of displacement of the probe resultant from interatomic forces acting between atomics of the probe and sample, thereby producing signals, a circuit for providing the actuator for feedback in response to the output signals from the circuit to retain constant the distance between the probe and sample, thereby causing the actuator to move the sample, a circuit for forming an STS image data from the detected tunnel current, a circuit for forming an STM image data from the detected tunnel current, and a circuit for forming an AFM image data. Thus, the STS, STP and AFM images are separately obtained simultaneously.

Scanning probe microscope having cantilever and detecting sample

Probe for a scanning tunneling microscope

A bias voltage U.sub.B including a sine-wave voltage U.sub.T sin.omega. .sub.o t and an off-set voltage U.sub.REG is applied to an electrode on a sample. A potential U.sub.1 of the electrode is represented by: U.sub.1 =U.sub.REG +U.sub.T sin.omega. .sub.o t. A voltage including the bias voltage U.sub.B and a voltage .DELTA.U is applied to an electrode on the sample. A probe is approached to the sample by several nm, and a tunnel current I.sub.T flows therebetween. And the probe scans the surface of the sample. During the scan, the position of the probe is servo-controlled in the z-direction, to make constant the average absolute value of the tunnel current. The servo voltage is recorded thereby obtaining an STM image. Given that the potential difference between the electrode and a surface portion facing the probe is U.sub.S (x), the average of U.sub.1 +U.sub.S (x) becomes zero when the average of the tunnel current I.sub.T is zero. Accordingly, &lt;U.sub.S (x)+U.sub.REG +U.sub.T sin.omega. .sub.o t&gt;=0, that is, U.sub.S (x)=-U.sub.REG. Thus, by recording-U.sub.REG the potential distribution U.sub.S (x) on the sample surface is determined. Spectroscopic data is obtained by an analog operation unit, on the basis of a differential conductance .differential.I.sub.T /.differential.U.sub.T calculated from the tunnel current signal I.sub.T and the bias voltage U.sub.T.

A barrier height measuring apparatus includes a conductive cantilever with a probe which is placed close to a specimen. The cantilever is elastically deformed by the interatomic force existing between the cantilever and specimen while the cantilever is oscillated. The displacement of the cantilever against the specimen is detected while the distance between the probe and the specimen is controlled to maintain the oscillation amplitude of the cantilever to a constant level. The apparatus includes a bias source for applying a voltage of a predetermined waveform between the specimen and the cantilever to cause a tunneling current to flow between them, and an arithmetic processor for calculating the barrier height of the surface of the specimen from the tunnel current and the displacement of the cantilever.

Barrier height measuring apparatus including a conductive cantilever

A scanning tunnel spectroscope comprises a generator for applying a bias voltage (V.sub.T) of a sin wave between a sample and probe, an I-V converter for converting a tunnel current flowing when the probe is set close to the sample, to a tunnel current representing voltage singal (I.sub.T), a detector for detecting the absolute value of the voltage signal (I.sub.t), and a servo circuit for servo-controlling a distance between the sample and probe using the absolute value with the servo time constant set larger than five times the period of the bias voltage. The information concerning the unevenness of the sample is obtained based on an output of the servo control means. A unit is provided for effecting the analog operation to derive a differential conductance based on the tunnel current on the real time basis and measuring the unevenness data and differential conductance between the sample and probe kept constant.

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Sagamihara, Japan

Akira Yagi