Abstract: A support device for a scanned-probe microscope comprises a horizontal base member and a vertical bridge member that are transverse to one another. The horizontal and vertical members are connected at their respective opposite ends by a common chord member extending between the ends. The device preferably includes means for attaching a scanned-probe microscope to a forward surface of the vertical bridge member. The support device preferably further includes one or more bracket members, each attached at one end to the rearward surface of the vertical bridge member and at the opposite end to a rearward surface of the chord member. Each bracket includes a section extending away from the chord member. The horizontal base member and the chord member each has an upper surface substantially coplanar with one another. The substantially coplanar upper surfaces together provide support for a readily separable sample plate.