Patent US3952684A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0347739A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Scanning tunneling microscope and surface topographic observation method
Assignee: Hitachi Ltd
•
Filing: 1989-06-14
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2009-06-14
Abstract
Abstract In a surface topographic observation method using a scanning tunneling microscope, a probe (2) is moved away from the surface (5a) of a sample (5) and is moved on a plane to move it successively to points of measurement on the sample surface in order to obtain texture information of the sample. That is, the probe (2) is moved on a plane completely preventing the probe tip from colliding with the sample surface (5a) and enabling the probe to effect scanning at high speeds.
Inventors
- 👤 Sumio Hosaka
- 👤 Shigeyuki Hosoki
- 👤 Keiji Takata
- 👤 Tsuyoshi Hitachi-Dai4Kyoshin-Ryo 4-14-6 Hasegawa
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 04:28
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01Q; G01Q60/00; G01Q60/02; G01Q60/04; B; B82; B82Y; B82Y35/00; G01B; G01B7/00; G01B7/34; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S977/00; Y10S977/84; Y10S977/849; Y10S977/85; Y10S977/851
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
57 words
A surface topographic observation method using a scanning tunneling microscope, wherein when a probe (2) is to be successively moved to points of measurement on the surface (5a) of a sample (5) to obtain texture information of the sample, the probe is once moved away from the surface of the sample and is moved on a plane.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
57 words
A surface topographic observation method using a scanning tunneling microscope, wherein when a probe (2) is to be successively moved to points of measurement on the surface (5a) of a sample (5) to obtain texture information of the sample, the probe is once moved away from the surface of the sample and is moved on a plane.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the probe (2) is brought close to the sample (5), and the texture information of the sample is obtained from the elongation of the probe at a moment when a tunnel current that flows across the probe and the sample has reached a desired value.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 2, wherein the probe (2) is brought close to the sample (5) at a constant speed.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein the probe (2) is brought close to the sample (5) by a servo mechanism (8...12) to maintain the tunnel current constant.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
151 words
A scanning tunneling microscope comprising: means (8) for measuring a current that flows across a sample (5) and a probe (2), means (6, 7, 14) for two-dimensionally scanning said probe (2) on the surface (5a) of said sample (5), means (1) for changing the distance in the vertical direction between said sample surface (5a) and the tip of said probe (2), servo means (8...12) which adjusts the gap between said sample surface (5a) and said probe (2) such that said current becomes constant, and means (11, 15...19) for obtaining information on said sample surface (5a) from the displacement of said probe (2) in the vertical direction at each of said points of measurement, wherein said scanning means (6, 7, 14) effects the scanning among said points of measurement with said probe (2) moved away from said sample surface (5a), and said servo means (8...12) functions only at said points of measurement.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
151 words
A scanning tunneling microscope comprising: means (8) for measuring a current that flows across a sample (5) and a probe (2), means (6, 7, 14) for two-dimensionally scanning said probe (2) on the surface (5a) of said sample (5), means (1) for changing the distance in the vertical direction between said sample surface (5a) and the tip of said probe (2), servo means (8...12) which adjusts the gap between said sample surface (5a) and said probe (2) such that said current becomes constant, and means (11, 15...19) for obtaining information on said sample surface (5a) from the displacement of said probe (2) in the vertical direction at each of said points of measurement, wherein said scanning means (6, 7, 14) effects the scanning among said points of measurement with said probe (2) moved away from said sample surface (5a), and said servo means (8...12) functions only at said points of measurement.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
61 words
The microscope of claim 5, comprising means (1) which moves said probe (2) away from the sample surface (5a) when the current that is a tunnel current reaches a setpoint value, and means (11, 15...19) which obtains texture information on said sample surface (5a) from the displacement of said probe (2) in the vertical direction when said setpoint value is detected.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
70 words
The microscope of claim 6, comprising means which, after the tunnel current is detected, measures physical information such as a current corresponding to a tunnel voltage, a conductance or a differential conductance under the condition where the probe (2) is at rest, and means which, after the physical information is measured, moves the probe (2) away from the sample (5) and then transfers it to the next position of measurement.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.