Means For Establishing Or Regulating A Desired Environmental Condition Within A Sample Chamber (epo) Patents (Class 850/12)
  • Patent number: 8719960
    Abstract: The present invention provides a microcantilever capable of independently measuring and/or controlling the electrical potential and/or temperature of a surface with nanometer scale position resolution. The present invention also provides methods of manipulating, imaging, and/or mapping a surface or the properties of a surface with a microcantilever. The microcantilevers of the present invention are also capable of independently measuring and/or controlling the electrical potential and/or temperature of a gas or liquid. The devices and methods of the present invention are useful for applications including gas, liquid, and surface sensing, micro- and nano-fabrication, imaging and mapping of surface contours or surface properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignee: The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
    Inventor: William P. King
  • Patent number: 8490209
    Abstract: Provided are a surface state measuring device which can measure an alternating force of an arbitrary frequency and which is excellent in spatial resolution, and a surface state measuring method using the device. This surface state measuring device measures the surface state of a sample by detecting the modulation of the oscillation of a probe arranged above the sample. The measuring device comprises: a cantilever having a probe near a free end; an excitation mechanism for exciting the cantilever; a scanning mechanism for making the probe scan the sample by moving the probe and the sample relative to each other; and alternating force generator for generating an alternating force of an arbitrary frequency in a space; and a modulation measuring mechanism for measuring the degree of frequency modulation or amplitude modulation of the oscillations of the probe, which are generated by the alternating force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: Akita University
    Inventor: Hitoshi Saito
  • Patent number: 8484759
    Abstract: An approach for the thermomechanical characterization of phase transitions in polymeric materials (polyethyleneterephthalate) by band excitation acoustic force microscopy is developed. This methodology allows the independent measurement of resonance frequency, Q factor, and oscillation amplitude of a tip-surface contact area as a function of tip temperature, from which the thermal evolution of tip-surface spring constant and mechanical dissipation can be extracted. A heating protocol maintained a constant tip-surface contact area and constant contact force, thereby allowing for reproducible measurements and quantitative extraction of material properties including temperature dependence of indentation-based elastic and loss moduli.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: UT-Battelle, LLC
    Inventors: Stephen Jesse, Sergei V. Kalinin, Maxim P. Nikiforov
  • Patent number: 8479309
    Abstract: Provided are methods and systems for high resolution imaging of a material immersed in liquid by scanning probe microscopy. The methods further relate to imaging a material submersed in liquid by tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM), wherein the AFM has a microfabricated AFM probe comprising a nanoneedle probe connected to a cantilever beam. The nanoneedle probe is immersed in the liquid, and the rest of the AFM probe, including the cantilever beam to which the nanoneedle probe is attached, remains outside the liquid. The cantilever is oscillated and the nanoneedle probe tip taps the material to image the material immersed in liquid. In an aspect, the material is supported on a shaped substrate to provide a spatially-varying immersion depth with specially defined regions for imaging by any of the methods and systems of the present invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignee: The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
    Inventors: Min-Feng Yu, Majid Minary-Jolandan
  • Patent number: 8445846
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a beam optical component including a charged particle lens for focusing a charged particle beam, the charged particle lens comprising a first element having a first opening for focusing the charged particle beam; a second element having a second opening for focusing the charged particle beam and first driving means connected with at least one of the first element and the second element for aligning the first opening with respect to the second opening. With the first driving means, the first opening and the second opening can be aligned with respect to each other during beam operation to provide a superior alignment of the beam optical component for a better beam focusing. The present invention also relates to a charged particle beam device that uses said beam optical component for focusing the charged particle beam, and a method to align first opening and second opening with respect to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: ICT Integrated Circuit Testing Gesellschaft fur Halbleiterpruftechnik mbH
    Inventor: Juergen Frosien
  • Patent number: 8249727
    Abstract: A microscope configuration according to an exemplary embodiment includes a microscope system with at least one addressable component and also a control system with a plurality of control modules for influencing a plurality of test-environment parameters in a test chamber of the microscope system. The control modules are configured to be combined in modular manner and to be coupled through an interface unit with a unified bus, through which they are controlled. A control module influencing a test-environment parameter of an incubation system has a control command interface unit configured to receive at least one control command. The control command interface unit couples with a bus. A control device is coupled with the control command interface unit and influences the test-environment parameter based upon the control command. A further interface unit is coupled to the control command interface unit and outputs, again, the received control command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH
    Inventors: Jörg Schaffer, Eugen Wehner
  • Patent number: 7930766
    Abstract: The following invention pertains to the introduction of a gas (or fluid) around a SPM probe or Nanotool™ to control chemical activity e.g. oxygen to promote oxidation, argon to inhibit oxidation or clean dry air (CDA) to inhibit moisture to control static charging due to the action of the probe or nanotools and to provide vacuum at and around the tip and substrate area. The invention can also produce electrical current for use with active electronic devices on, in or near the body of the device. In addition by use of a fluid like water, certain oils, and other liquids in conjunction with specific tip structure either electric discharge machining can be used at the tip area on the tip itself (in conjunction with a form structure on the work piece) or on a work piece beneath the tip to shape, polish and remove material at very small scales (10 microns to 1 nm or less).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: General Nanotechnology LLC
    Inventor: Victor B. Kley
  • Patent number: 7928409
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for aligning, stabilizing and registering two or more structures in one or more dimensional space with picometer-scale precision. Low noise laser light is scattered by at least one or more structure or fiducial marks. One mark may be coupled to each structure to be positioned. The light which has been scattered off the fiducial marks is collected in a photo-sensitive device which enables real-time high-bandwidth position sensing of each structure. One or more of the structures should be mounted on a stage, and the stage can move in either one or more dimensions. The photo-sensitive device generates signals in response to the scattered light received, and the signals are used to modulate the position of the stage in a feedback loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Commerce
    Inventors: Thomas T. Perkins, Gavin M. King, Ashley R. Carter
  • Patent number: 7709791
    Abstract: Provided is a scanning probe microscope (SPM), a probe of which can be automatically replaced and the replacement probe can be attached onto an exact position. The SPM includes a first scanner that has a carrier holder, and changes a position of the carrier holder in a straight line; a second scanner changing a position of a sample on a plane; and a tray being able to store a spare carrier and a spare probe attached to the spare carrier. The carrier holder includes a plurality of protrusions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: Park Systems Corp.
    Inventors: Hyeong Chan Jo, Hong Jae Lim, Seung Jun Shin, Joon Hui Kim, Yong Seok Kim, Sang-il Park