Nuomedis Ag

Artidis Ag

Robert Sum

Lukas Emanuel Howald

Urs Matter

This invention concerns scanning probe microscopes and related instruments ('SPMs') when used to investigate or measure large samples whose size is a multiple of the typical operational scanning area of an SPM, say 150 &#x3bc;m&#xd7;150 &#x3bc;m at most. To avoid frequent readjustments or other time-consuming human interaction and errors when focusing the SPM, a multi-step, automated method for the SPM-scanning of large samples is disclosed, comprising a 'coarse', i.e. low resolution, non-SPM scanning or mapping step adapted to scan a large sample and providing an integral map of the sample, followed by a preferably mathematical evaluation step identifying areas of interest of the sample, which areas are then subjected to a focused &#x201c;fine&#x201d; raster scanning step by the SPM with high resolution. The associated apparatus provides the means to execute this novel three-step process.

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Liestal, Switzerland

Robert Sum