Olympus Corporation

Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Showa Denko K.k.

Nobuaki Sakai

Katsuhiro Matsuyama

Yoshitsugu Uekusa

Masahiro Suzuki

Akitoshi Toda

Takashi Yoneyama

Hirofumi Miyamoto

Mitsugu Sakai

Keijitsu Tanaka

Seizo Morita

Michihiro Takama

Kazunori Sakimoto

Michio Takayama

Yasushi Nakamura

Yasuhiro Sugawara

Mitsumori Hayashida

Norio Moriya

Tatsuya Mizukoshi

Yukie Goto

An atomic force microscope includes a raster scan control mechanism configured to perform a raster scan between a cantilever having a probe at a free end and a sample relative to each other across an XY plane in a fluid, an interaction control mechanism configured to vibrate the cantilever and to control an interaction generated between the probe and the sample, and a sample information acquisition circuit configured to acquire sample information including inclination information of a sample surface with respect to the XY plane based on a control result of the interaction control mechanism. The interaction control mechanism is configured to control the interaction generated between the probe and the sample in accordance with inclination of the sample surface with respect to the XY plane.

Atomic force microscope, atomic force microscopy, and controlling method of an atomic force microscopy

An atomic force microscope acquires sample information by performing relative raster scanning between a cantilever and a sample across an XY-plane, while causing an interaction to be generated between a probe provided at a free end of the cantilever and the sample. The atomic force microscope includes a raster-scanning-information generator to generate raster scanning information, a raster-scanning controller to control the raster scanning based on the raster scanning information, and an interaction controller to control strength of the interaction based on the raster scanning information. The interaction controller relatively reduces the strength of the interaction, when a relative speed between the cantilever and the sample across the XY-plane of the raster scanning relatively decreases.

Atomic force microscope and control method of the same

An atomic force microscope is to acquire sample information by a raster scanning of a cantilever with respect to a sample. The atomic force microscope includes a raster-scanning-information generator to generate raster scanning information including timing information. The timing information includes a first timing at which a relative speed between the cantilever and sample decreases lower than a threshold, and a second timing at which the relative speed increases higher than the threshold after the first timing. The atomic force microscope also includes a raster-scanning controller to control the raster scanning, and an interaction controller to decrease the strength of an interaction between the cantilever and sample at the first timing, and increase the strength of the interaction at the second timing.

A scanning probe microscope includes a cantilever having a probe at a free end thereof; a scanner to three-dimensionally relatively move the probe and a sample; a vibrator to vibrate the cantilever based on a vibrating signal; a displacement detector to detect a displacement of the cantilever and to output a displacement signal indicating the displacement; and a phase difference information detecting section to generate a phase signal including information of a phase difference between the vibrating signal and the displacement signal. The phase difference information detecting section includes a phase regulating portion to provide, to the phase difference, a phase offset to cancel an initial phase difference present in a state in which the probe is not in contact with the sample.

Scanning probe microscope and control method thereof

A scanning mechanism includes a movable portion to which a scanning target object is attached, and an X-Y actuator to scan the movable portion in an X direction and a Y direction perpendicular to the X direction. The X-Y actuator is symmetrical with respect to a straight line parallel to the Y direction and asymmetrical with respect to a straight line parallel to the X direction.

Scanning mechanism and scanning probe microscope

A scanning mechanism includes a cantilever, an XY movable portion movable in X and Y directions parallel to an X-Y plane, an XY actuator to scan the XY movable portion in the X and Y directions, a Z actuator to scan the cantilever in a Z direction perpendicular to the X-Y plane, and a light condensing portion to cause light for detecting a displacement of the cantilever to enter the cantilever. The Z actuator and the light condensing portion are held by the XY movable portion and arranged side by side in projection to the X-Y plane.

A scanning probe microscope to measure a sample set on a sample mount in liquid includes a scanning mechanism to scan a cantilever provided with a probe at a free end along an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis perpendicular to each other, and a liquid contact member including an optical transmission portion to transmit detection light for detecting a displacement of the cantilever, and arranged at least partially in contact with the liquid. The liquid contact member is not scanned by the scanning mechanism.

Scanning probe microscope

A scanning probe microscope includes a vibration unit to vibrate the cantilever on the basis of a vibration signal, a displacement detection unit to output a displacement signal indicating the displacement of the cantilever, a phase adjustment unit to provide a phase offset to a phase difference between the vibration signal and displacement signal, a phase signal generating unit to generate a phase signal including information regarding the phase difference and phase offset, and a control unit to control the distance between the probe and sample on the basis of the phase signal. The phase adjustment unit combines a first phase amount that cancels an initial phase difference exiting in a condition where the probe and sample are out of contact, with a second phase amount equal to or more than (0 [rad]) and less than or equal to (&#x3c0;/2 [rad]) and provides a combined amount to the phase difference.

Scanning probe microscope and scanning probe microscopy

A compound microscope of an optical microscope and a scanning probe microscope includes a stage to support a sample substrate holding a sample, and a cantilever chip having a substrate, a cantilever supported by the substrate, and a probe provided at the free end of the cantilever. The compound microscope further includes a scanner to hold the cantilever chip so that the probe faces the sample substrate and so that the substrate is inclined with respect to the sample substrate and to three-dimensionally scan the cantilever chip with respect to the sample substrate, a displacement sensor to optically detect the displacement of the cantilever, and an illumination light source to apply illumination light for observation by the optical microscope to the sample through the space between the substrate and the sample substrate.

Compound microscope

A scanning probe microscope includes a cantilever having a probe at a free thereof, a displacement detector to output a displacement signal of the cantilever, a vibrator to vibrate the cantilever, and a scanner to three-dimensionally relatively move the sample and probe. A mixed signal generator includes an amplitude information detecting section to provide a vibrating signal to the vibrator and generate an amplitude signal including information of an amplitude of the displacement signal, and a phase difference information detecting section to generate a phase signal including information of a phase difference between the displacement signal and the synchronous signal, and adds the displacement signal and the synchronous signal to generate a mixed signal. A controller to control the scanner includes a Z control section, which controls the distance between the sample and the probe on the basis of the mixed signal.

An optical scanner driving apparatus comprises a moving plate having a reflection plane and a driving coil, a magnetic field generating section arranged in a vicinity of the moving plate, a driving circuit to supply a driving signal to the driving coil, a first output acquiring section to acquire an output containing an electromotive force generated in the driving coil by an electromagnetic induction, a second output acquiring section comprising an impedance element having a corresponding impedance to an impedance of the driving coil, to acquire an output generated by the impedance element by supplying the driving signal to the impedance element, and a control circuit to control a state of the torsional vibration of the moving plate according to the electromotive force generated in the driving coil on the basis of the outputs acquired by the first output acquiring section and the second output acquiring section.

Optical scanner driving apparatus and optical scanner driving method

In a microscope system in which at least one of a stage on which a sampleis mounted and an objective lenscan move relatively in a direction of an optical axis, a contact judgment sectionjudges the possibility of contact between the sampleand the objective lensbased on a result of comparison between a detection output from a contact sensorwhich detects contact between the sampleand the objective lensand a preset threshold value, excessive contact between the sampleand the objective lensis avoided based on a result of this judgment, and a threshold value in the contact judgment sectionis updated based on the output from the contact sensorevery predetermined time.

Microscope system

A driving circuit for an optical scanner includes an oscillation driving device for oscillating a moving plate, an oscillation detecting device for detecting the oscillating condition of the moving plate, an oscillating frequency control device for controlling the amplitude of a torsional oscillation of the moving plate, and an oscillating amplitude control device for controlling the amplitude of the torsional oscillation of the moving plate. The driving circuit is thus constructed so that the oscillation of a scanner can be controlled with a high degree of accuracy.

Driving circuit for an optical scanner

A conductive cantilever having a conductive probe on its free end is supported by a piezoelectric element, which oscillates upon reception of an AC voltage from a first AC voltage supply unit. An AC voltage is applied between a conductive sample and the probe by a variable DC voltage supply unit and a second AC voltage supply unit. An AM demodulator demodulates a signal from a displacement meter at an angular frequency of the first AC voltage supply unit. A lowpass filter extracts a DC component from an output signal from the AM demodulator, and a synchronism detector extracts a component concerning to the angular frequency twice as high as that of the second AC voltage supply unit from the AM demodulator output signal. A Z controller controls a position of a tube scanner based on an output signal from the subtracter which subtracts an output signal of the synchronism detector from an output signal of the lowpass filter. A data processing unit maps configuration data from the Z controller and surface potential data from a voltage control circuit, referring to XY data from an XY scanning circuit, such that a configuration image and a potential distribution image of the sample are obtained.

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Hachioji, Japan

Nobuaki Sakai