Seiko Instruments Inc

Sii Nanotechnology Inc.

Other

Hitachi High-tech Science Corporation

Daiken Chemical Co., Ltd.

Yoshiharu Shirakawabe

Yuji Yamamoto

Satoshi Nakayama

Hiroshi Takahashi

Nobuhiro Shimizu

Masatoshi Yasutake

Tadashi Arai

Akio Harada

Yoshikazu Nakayama

Takashi Okawa

Akira Inoue

Masatsugu Shigeno

Naoya Watanabe

Seiji Akita

Osamu Matsuzawa

Amiko Nihei

Chiaki Yasumuro

Michel Despont

Takehiro Yamaoka

Kazutoshi Watanabe

Hiroshi Muramatsu

Susumu Ichihara

Takashi Kaito

Yoshitomo Nakagawa

Atsushi Nagata

Takeshi Umemoto

Yuichi Takano

Kazunori Ando

Itaru Kitajima

Shigenobu Yamanaka

Shoji Sadayama

Peter Vettiger

Susumu Ihcihara

Kazutaka Takahashi

Walter H&auml;berle

Jurgen P Brugger

Gerd K Binnig

Mayu Watanabe

A cell detachment method for detaching only a desired cell from a plurality of cells cultured on a substrate under predetermined culture environment conditions by using a scanning probe microscope having a probe, comprising: observing the plural cells; specifying the cell to be detached; moving the probe onto the specified cell; and pressing the prove against the specified cell with a predetermined force so as to detach the cell from the substrate.

Cell detachment method

A cantilever includes: a lever portion; a holder portion supporting the proximal end of the lever portion; a probe portion arranged at the distal end of the lever portion and having a spherical surface to face a sample; and a retaining portion fixed to the distal end of the lever portion and retaining the probe portion to surround a periphery of the probe portion. There is provided a cantilever allowing mounting of a probe portion with little effect in a short time without using any adhesive.

Cantilever and cantilever manufacturing method

A method of manufacturing a split probe tip on a cantilever comprises providing a cantilever having a surface on which is formed a probe that projects outwardly from the surface at one end of the cantilever, irradiating and scanning a tip of the probe with a focused particle beam directed in a direction that is inclined relative to the surface of the cantilever to obtain an image of the probe tip, and determining the center of the probe tip from the image of the probe tip. Then a first channel is formed in the probe tip at the center thereof by irradiating and scanning the center of the probe tip with a focused particle beam to form a split probe tip having two spaced-apart probe tip parts. The forming step comprises using the focused particle beam to form a first channel section that extends radially inwardly from a periphery of the probe tip, and then using the focused particle beam to form a second channel section that extends radially inwardly from the periphery of the probe tip at a location opposite the first channel section and that connects to the first channel section to define therewith the first channel.

Method for manufacturing a split probe

In a method for fabricating a nanometer-scale structure by arranging nanotubes in a predetermined direction at a predetermined position, the method for fabricating a nanometer-scale structure comprises a first step of planarizing a substrate by etching a predetermined part by irradiating a focused energy beam to the sample, a second step of decomposing and depositing an organic gas into a columnar structure with an objective of determining the position and direction, and a third step of attaching and fixing the nanotube by using the thus deposited columnar structure as a standard of position and direction.

Method for fabricating nanometer-scale structure

A scanning probe microscope has a probe needle and a control section that controls relative scanning movement between the probe needle and a surface of a sample in at least one direction parallel to the sample surface and controls relative movement between the probe needle and the sample surface in a direction perpendicular to the sample surface. A vibration source vibrates the probe needle at a vibrating frequency relative to the sample surface. An approach/separation drive section causes the probe needle to relatively approach to and separate from the sample surface at a predetermined distance while the probe needle is vibrated at the vibrating frequency relative to the sample surface by the vibration source. A detection section detects a rate of change in a vibration state of the probe needle in accordance with a distance between the probe needle and the sample surface. An observation section gathers observation data from the sample surface when the rate of change in the vibration state of the probe needle detected by the detection section has exceeded a preselected threshold value.

Scanning probe microscope and scanning method

A scanning microscope probe in which a palladium covering film is formed on the surface of the protruding portion of a cantilever, and the base end portion of a nanotube is disposed in contact with the palladium covering film with the tip end portion of the nanotube protruding to the outside, thus allowing the tip end to be used as a probe needle end for detecting signals. A coating film is formed to cover all or part of the surface of this base end portion, and the nanotube is thus firmly fastened to the cantilever. Since the base end portion adheres tightly to the palladium covering film, both of them are electrically continuous. This palladium covering film allows, as an electrode film, the application of a voltage to the nanotube or the passage of an electric current through the nanotube, showing also good adhesion to the nanotube and cantilever.

Probe for a scanning microscope

In order to establish processing techniques capable of making multi-tip probes with sub-micron intervals and provide such microscopic multi-tip probes, there is provided an outermost surface analysis apparatus for semiconductor devices etc. provided with a function for enabling positioning to be performed in such a manner that there is no influence on measurement in electrical measurements at an extremely small region using this microscopic multi-tip probe, and there are provided the steps of making a cantileverformed with a plurality of electrodesusing lithographic techniques, and forming microscopic electrodesminute in pitch by sputtering or gas-assisted etching a distal end of the cantileverusing a focused charged particle beam or using CVD.

Surface characteristic analysis apparatus

Method of manufacturing the multi-tip probe, a multi-tip probe, and surface characteristic analysis apparatus

A scanning probe is microscope has a cantilever having a probe at a disal end thereof and an oscillator for generating a resonance signal near a resonance of the cantilever. A vibrating device receives the resonance signal as a driving signal for vibrating the cantilever. A variable gain amplifier adjusts a gain of displacement signal corresponding to displacement of the vibrating cantilever so as to satisfy the equation G=(A/A)*Gto control a quality factor value of the cantilever resonance to an optimal quality factor value, where G represents a gain value of the variable gain amplifer, A represents a preselected oscillation amplitude of the oscillator, Arepresents an initial oscillation amplitude of the oscillator, and Grepresents a gain value of the variable gain amplifier when the initial oscillation amplitude of the oscillator is A.

Scanning probe microscope and operation method

A self-detecting type cantilever for an atomic force microscope (AFM) has an electro-flexural conversion element for converting a flexural amount of the cantilever into an electric current or voltage, a temperature measurement element disposed at a front end portion of the cantilever for measuring a temperature, and a heating element disposed at the front end portion of the cantilever for heating the temperature measurement element. The temperature measurement element and the heating element are superposed with each other on a main face of the cantilever via an electrical insulating layer. As a result, even if the amount of electric energy supplied to the heating element is reduced, it is possible to effectively supply an amount of heat necessary for measurement to the temperature measurement element. Therefore, by minimizing the heat to be supplied to a sample and the cantilever, the respondency of measurement is improved and temperature measurement can be performed with a high degree of accuracy.

Heated self-detecting type cantilever for atomic force microscope

A conductive probe for a scanning type microscope that captures the substance information of the surface of a specimen by the tip end of a conductive nanotube probe needle fastened to a cantilever, in which the conductive probe is constructed from a conductive film formed on the surface of the cantilever, a conductive nonatube with its base end portion being fixed in contact which the surface of a predetermined of the cantilever, and a conductive deposit which fastens the conductive nanotube by covering from the base end portion of the nonatube to a part of the conductive film. The conductive nonatube and the conductive film are electrically connected to each other by the conductive deposit.

Conductive probe for scanning microscope and machining method using the same

A scanning type microscope that captures substance information of the surface of a specimen by the tip end of a nanotube probe needle fastened to a cantilever, in which an organic gas is decomposed by a focused ion beam in a focused ion beam apparatus, and the nanotube is bonded to the cantilever with a deposit of the decomposed component thus produced. With this probe, the quality of the nanotube probe needle can be improved by removing an unnecessary deposit adhering to the nanotube tip end portion using a ion beam, by cutting an unnecessary part of the nanotube in order to control length of the probe needle and by injecting ions into the tip end portion of the nanotube.

Probe for scanning microscope produced by focused ion beam machining

A cantilever for a vertical scanning type microscope that obtains substance information of a surface of a specimen by a tip end of a nanotube probe needle fastened to the cantilever, in which the cantilever has a fixing region to which a base end portion of a nanotube serving as a probe needle is fastened, and a height direction of the fixing region is set to be substantially perpendicular to a mean surface of the specimen when the cantilever is disposed in a measuring state with respect to the mean surface of the specimen; and the base end portion of the nanotube is bonded in the height direction of the fixing region.

Cantilever for vertical scanning microscope and probe for vertical scan microscope

Microprobe and scanning probe apparatus having microprobe

A microprobe has a cantilever having a first lever portion having a free end portion, a second lever portion having a front end portion from which the first lever portion projects, and a support portion for supporting the second lever portion. A piezoresistive element is disposed on the second lever portion for bending the second lever portion.

Microprobe and sample surface measuring apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Chiba, Japan

Yoshiharu Shirakawabe