Atomic force microscopy

USRE37299E · kind E · reissue

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Nabil M. Amer · Berkeley, US
• Gerhard Meyer · Erlangen, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Jan 27, 1997
• Grant date: Jul 31, 2001
• Expiry date: Jan 27, 2017

Classification

• Technology area (CPC —): General

Abstract

An atomic force microscope includes a tip mounted on a micromachined cantilever. As the tip scans a surface to be investigated, interatomic forces between the tip and the surface induce displacement of the tip. A laser beam is transmitted to and reflected from the cantilever for measuring the cantilever orientation. In a preferred embodiment the laser beam has an elliptical shape. The reflected laser beam is detected with a position-sensitive detector, preferably a bicell. The output of the bicell is provided to a computer for processing of the data for providing a topographical image of the surface with atomic resolution.