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:
Jul. 23, 2002
Filed:
Mar. 15, 2000
Nobuhiro Shimizu, Chiba, JP;
Yoshiharu Shirakawabe, Chiba, JP;
Hiroshi Takahashi, Chiba, JP;
Chiaki Yasumuro, Chiba, JP;
Tadashi Arai, Chiba, JP;
Seiko Instruments Inc., , JP;
Abstract
A scanning probe apparatus and a self-exciting cantilever probe therefor are provided for measuring a characteristic of a sample by scanning a lever of the probe across the sample surface. The probe has a deflectable lever extending from a base and formed integrally therewith, and a resistive body provided on the lever to excite the lever in response to a periodic bias signal applied to the resistive body. In addition, the resistive body has a resistance value that varies in response to deflection of the lever so that the resistance of the resistive body may be monitored to detect deflection of the lever.