Probe driving method, and probe apparatus
US7301146B2 · kind B2 · utility
5Cited by
6References
16Claims
0Family size
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Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 11, 2005 |
| Grant date | Nov 27, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 30, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R31/311
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A probe driving method and a probe apparatus for bringing a probe into contact with the surface of a sample in a safe and efficient manner by monitoring the probe height. Information about the height of the probe from the sample surface is obtained by detecting a probe shadow (54) appearing immediately before the probe contacts the sample, or based on a change in relative positions of a probe image and a sample image that are formed as an ion beam is irradiated diagonally.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.