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:
Sep. 20, 2005
Filed:
Jul. 02, 2002
Chanmin Su, Ventura, CA (US);
Kenneth L. Babcock, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Lin Huang, Goleta, CA (US);
Chanmin Su, Ventura, CA (US);
Kenneth L. Babcock, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Lin Huang, Goleta, CA (US);
Veeco Instruments Inc., Woodbury, NY (US);
Abstract
An apparatus and method of operating a probe-based instrument in a torsional mode. The method includes providing a probe having a cantilever defining a longitudinal axis and supporting a tip. In operation, the method torsionally oscillates the probe generally about the longitudinal axis at a resonance. In addition, the method changes a separation distance between the tip and a surface of a sample so the tip interacts with the surface during data acquisition. By detecting a change in the torsional oscillation of the cantilever in response to the interaction between the tip and the surface, forces, including shear forces and shear force gradients, between the tip and the surface can be measured to determine sub-nanometer features.