The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 24, 1992
Filed:
May. 13, 1991
Craig Prater, Goleta, CA (US);
Thomas B Albrecht, San Jose, CA (US);
The Regents of the University of California, Oakland, CA (US);
Abstract
A universal probe which can be used with many different types of scanning probe microscopes is disclosed. The probe is mounted on a flexible base. The flexible base may either be a flexible cantilevered beam or a flexible membrane. The probe is a sharply tapered probe and forms in general a squat hollow pyramid or cone. The apex of the pyramid or cone has an aperture defined therethrough with a small controlled diameter of the order of 10 to 50,000 Angstroms. The hollow within the probe is filled with a material chosen according to the type of the scanning probe microscope used and the underlying surface. A signal is coupled to the material in the tip of the probe from the scanning probe microscope to interact with the underlying surface.