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:
May. 25, 1993
Filed:
Nov. 15, 1991
Applicant:
Inventors:
Klaus Dransfeld, Ermatingen, CH;
Ulrich Fischer, Wetzlar, DE;
Peter Guethner, Konstanz, DE;
Knut Heitmann, Wetzlar, DE;
Assignee:
Hommelwerke GmbH, Schwenningen, DE;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01B / ; G01B / ; G01B / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
73579 ; 73635 ; 73105 ;
Abstract
An acoustic scanning microscope uses damping of a resonant acoustic oscillator and an acoustic near-field effect. In a preferred embodiment, a 32 KHz tuning fork serving as an acoustic oscillator with a 50 nm point achieves a vertical resolution of 5 nm and a horizontal resolution of 50 nm in the case of a minimum distance of approximately 50 nm. Frequency or amplitude variation of the resonant acoustic oscillator can be used. The acoustic near-field effect is dependent on the coupling medium, e.g., air, and the pressure, e.g., normal pressure.