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:
Dec. 21, 1999
Filed:
Jul. 21, 1998
John D Alexander, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Marco Tortonese, Mountain View, CA (US);
Thai Nguyen, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Thermomicroscopes Corp., Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
A scanning mechanism is provided for use in a scanning probe microscope. The scanning mechanism includes a stationary portion; a moveable portion; a plurality of springs attaching the moveable portion to the fixed portion, the plurality of springs providing tension against movement of the moveable portion relative to the stationary portion, the tension provided by the plurality of springs having a substantially linear spring constant over a scan distance; and one or more voice coils attached to either the moveable portion or the stationary portion for moving the moveable portion relative to the stationary portion in one or more orthogonal directions.