The present invention is directed to a probe for a metrology instrument, and more particularly to a an AFM probe having a sensing or measurement lever that has at least two regions, one of which has a substantially lower spring constant than another of the regions during operation.
While probe based instruments have enjoyed great success and application over a wide range of uses, operating conditions and the like, improvements thereto nonetheless remain desirable. For example, there are instances where the probe can become damaged or fail prematurely during operation, which obviously is undesirable.
In one particular instance, depending upon the mode and application, the force required to pull the probe free from a sample being analyzed can become so great that the probe will permanently plastically deform or even break. In at least the latter case, the probe is unusable and must be replaced before operation can continue.
One such probe based instrument used to perform a wide range of nano and atomic scale analyses measurement applications is an atomic force microscope (AFM). This type of probe based measurement instrument employs a measurement probe equipped with a sensing element that preferably is a stylus-type tip or the like. A preferred measurement probe is a cantilever having at least one lever that outwardly projects from a base that can be a substrate, such as a chip-type substrate or the like. Such a cantilever preferably includes at least one lever having an unsupported free end, at least a portion of which is typically used in analyzing a sample. These types of cantilever's typically are equipped with at least one tip which interacts with the sample being analyzed.
A typical AFM system is shown schematically in
For use and operation, one or more probes may be loaded into the AFM and the AFM may be equipped to select one of several loaded probes. Typically, the selected probe 14 is oscillated and brought into contact with sample 22 as sample characteristics are monitored by detecting changes in one or more characteristics of the oscillation of probe 14, as described above. In this regard, a deflection detection apparatus 17 is typically employed to direct a beam towards the backside of probe 14, the beam then being reflected towards a detector 26, such as a four quadrant photodetector. As the beam translates across detector 26, appropriate signals are transmitted to controller 20, which processes the signals to determine changes in the oscillation of probe 14. Commonly, controller 20 generates control signals to maintain a constant force between the tip and sample, typically to maintain a setpoint characteristic of the oscillation of probe 14. For example, controller 20 is often used to maintain the oscillation amplitude at a setpoint value, As, to insure a generally constant force between the tip and sample. Alternatively, a setpoint phase or frequency may be used.
AFMs may be designed to operate in a variety of modes, including contact mode and oscillating mode. In contact mode operation, the microscope typically scans the tip across the surface of the sample while keeping the force of the tip on the surface of the sample generally constant. In the contact mode, the tip is subjected to a substantially constant force pressing the sample. Notably, the amount of force is measured by cantilever deflection. A feedback loop is used to maintain constant deflection while the tip scans across the sample surface. Topographic mapping is accomplished by moving either the sample or the probe assembly vertically to the surface of the sample in response to sensed deflection of the cantilever as the probe is scanned horizontally across the surface. In this way, the data associated with this vertical motion can be stored and then used to construct an image of the sample surface corresponding to the sample characteristic being measured, e.g., surface topography. One main disadvantage of Contact Mode operation is that the friction forces produced when the tip moves laterally contribute greatly to tip wear, especially on hard samples, and sample damage, for example, due to scratching, especially if the sample is soft and deformable. Alternatively, some AFMs can at least selectively operate in an oscillation mode of operation such as TappingMode™. (TappingMode™ is a trademark of Veeco Instruments, Inc.) In TappingMode operation, the tip is oscillated at or near a resonant frequency of the cantilever of the probe. The amplitude or phase of this oscillation is kept constant during scanning using feedback signals, which are generated in response to tip-sample interaction. As in contact mode, these feedback signals are then collected, stored, and used as data to characterize the sample.
A key benefit of operating in TappingMode is that the corresponding intermittent contact minimizes shear forces that can operate to compromise the integrity of the tip and/or sample. Also, the corresponding lever is sufficiently stiff to maintain an intermittent contact relationship between the tip and sample, i.e., overcome adhesion forces and capillary forces, etc. Tapping at or near the resonance frequency of the probe reduces the interaction force by a factor of Q (quality factor of the probe) for the same amount of tip displacement or cantilever deflection, as shown in the equation:
where k is the spring constant and ztip is the deflection of the tip.
Furthermore, operating the probe at an acoustic frequency also reduces susceptibility of the AFM system to mechanical vibration and environmental instability, such as temperature induced drift in deflection. As a result, TappingMode has gained popularity and has become the dominant imaging mode in AFM applications. Notably, the Q factor in an ambient environment is typically a few hundred, implying a reduction of the interaction force, or increase in sensitivity to interaction forces by more than two orders of the magnitude.
However, these benefits of TappingMode imaging come with a price. First note that the transfer function of the TappingMode probe is a second order function with the bandwidth determined by the time constant of:
with Q of 300, frequency f=ω/2π=about 200 kHz, the bandwidth of the tapping is only about 2 kHz, allowing imaging speed of about 1 line per second. In contrast, a contact probe of the same frequency and Q has a bandwidth of about 100 kHz when imaging in Contact Mode. Therefore, a key benefit to operating in contact mode is that contact response dynamics are far superior to those of TappingMode (given that the “Q” of the cantilever is not involved to limit performance). As a result, much faster response times (and thus operation) is possible in contact mode.
Effort was made to increase tapping bandwidth by reducing cantilever spring constant k and increasing resonance frequency f. Given the ambient Q as a constant, a smaller or equivalent k but much higher f will increase cantilever bandwidth. The only possible way to make cantilevers satisfy these constraints is to make cantilevers a much smaller size. The decrease of k also has a physical limit in that the energy of the tapping in each cycle should be sufficient to overcome the capillary force so that the cantilever probe is not trapped by the water meniscus when the tip lands on the sample surface. In general, during imaging, the bandwidth and stability of the feedback loop demands that the cantilever be stiffer when tapping while keeping interaction forces due to interaction at the tip smaller, preferably with complete removal of friction forces.
Regardless of their mode of operation, AFMs can obtain resolution down to the atomic level on a wide variety of insulating or conductive surfaces in air, liquid or vacuum by using piezoelectric scanners, optical lever deflection detectors, and very small cantilevers fabricated using photolithographic techniques. Because of their resolution and versatility, AFMs are important measurement devices in many diverse fields ranging from semiconductor manufacturing to biological research. Referring more particularly to the issues referenced above as they pertain to AFM operation, including during tip-sample engage, a part of the cantilever lever, typically that part which includes the probe tip, is brought into close proximity to the sample being analyzed. When it gets close enough, intermolecular forces, including Van der Waals forces, influence interaction between the probe tip and sample. For example, referring to
When the cantilever is moving away from the sample (for example, when performing a force curve measurement or in Tapping Mode operation), these same forces are encountered in converse. As a result, as shown in
While the large attractive force that an approaching cantilever experiences as the tip gets very close to the sample generally does not cause tip failure, this same attractive force can be problematic when the tip is moving away from the sample. In addition, while
For example, where the tip comes in contact with liquid or some other foreign matter different than the sample, the close proximity attractive force can greatly increase beyond that which the cantilever can accommodate without failing in a manner the same as or like that previously mentioned. More specifically, where the tip unexpectedly comes into contact with liquid, such as what can occur in a hydrophilic sample, close proximity attractive force can significantly increase and spike due to the addition of capillary forces that cause the tip to essentially “stick.”
When the cantilever and its tip are displaced back and forth relative to the sample, such as when an AFM is being operated in an oscillatory mode of operation like TappingMode, the force-displacement curve is repeated each time the cantilever and tip are moved toward and into close proximity to the sample and then away from the sample, such as typically occurs in a single oscillatory cycle. One such oscillatory mode of operation referred to earlier, TappingMode operation, the tip of the cantilever is tapped against the sample being analyzed when scanning the sample.
Any time this close proximity attractive force becomes greater than what the cantilever can accommodate, even when operating in TappingMode™, cantilever failure can occur. In particular, any time “sticking” occurs, the likelihood of cantilever failure is dramatically increased, particularly where the cantilever is relatively stiff or less compliant.
What is needed is a probe and method capable of accommodating large increases in close proximity attractive forces, including unexpectedly large close proximity attractive forces as what can occur during “sticking,” without the cantilever failing, ideally while improving response performance. Furthermore, a device that includes the advantages of both methods, i.e., removing shear force in TappingMode and high response bandwidth in Contact Mode, is highly desired in order to increase AFM control speed.
The preferred embodiments are directed to a probe and method of operating the same that is able to accommodate close proximity attractive forces, including unexpectedly large attractive forces, such as which occur during “sticking” between the probe tip and sample, yet achieve the dynamic bandwidth of contact mode operation. More particularly, according to the preferred embodiments, a probe that includes a cantilever has a plurality of sections, at least one of which has a different effective spring constant than another of its contiguous sections during operation. In one embodiment, a more stiff section of the cantilever of the probe is disposed at the distal portion of the probe which carries the probe tip, such that forces acting on the tip are coupled to the more compliant section of the cantilever which is fixed. In this way, sensitivity is maintained and can even be improved while maintaining the integrity of the probe. In an alternative more preferred embodiment, the probe is driven or excited in a manner that causes at least one of a plurality of sections of the cantilever to operate with a lower effective spring rate and lower effective modulus than another of the lever sections. In this case, a conventional cantilever having a constant width and/or thickness and made of the same material along its entire length can be used.
According to one aspect of the preferred embodiment, a measurement instrument probe has an outwardly extending sensing lever having a plurality of sections, including one section that has a different spring constant than another one of the sections during operation.
In another aspect of this embodiment, the sensing lever includes a cantilever that is fixed at or adjacent one end of the cantilever. Preferably, a probing lever stage or region that is stiffer, at least during operation, than at least one other lever stage or region is provided.
In yet another aspect of this embodiment, the probing lever stage is disposed at or adjacent to a free end of the cantilever, has a spring constant greater than a spring constant of a less stiff lever stage that is disposed between the probing lever stage and where the cantilever is fixed.
According to another aspect of this embodiment, the less stiff lever stage has a width, W2, sufficiently wide such that an incident beam from a beam generator of a force and/or deflection detection arrangement has a width or diameter such that the beam can impinge against the less stiff lever stage with the entire portion of the beam spot where it impinges being located on an exterior surface of the less stiff lever stage. In a still further aspect of this preferred embodiment, the probe is driven so as to oscillate the probing lever stage. Moreover, the cantilever preferably oscillates at a resonant frequency and interacts with the sample by tapping on the sample.
According to another aspect of this preferred embodiment, the probing lever stage is disposed at or adjacent to a free end of the cantilever and the cantilever is driven or excited in a manner that causes the probing lever stage to have an effective spring constant, k1, that is greater than an effective spring constant, k2, of at least one other lever stage disposed between the probing lever stage and where the cantilever is fixed.
The control feedback is based on Contact Mode operation using the displacement of the weaker spring, k2 or ksoft, while k1 is driven to oscillate at a sufficient amplitude that can overcome capillary or sticking forces. In this manner, the feedback takes advantage of Contact Mode dynamics, while maintaining actual tip/surface interaction in TappingMode, thus minimizing Contact Mode friction forces that wear the tip or the sample.
In a still further aspect of this embodiment, the probing lever stage and the at least one other lever stage have substantially the same spring constant when the cantilever is not being driven in a manner that causes their effective spring constants to differ.
According to another aspect of this embodiment, the effectively less stiff one other lever stage has a longitudinal length, L2, that is at least a plurality of times longer than a longitudinal length, L1, of the effectively stiffer probing lever stage.
In another aspect of the preferred embodiment, a cantilever for an AFM probe includes a probing lever stage carrying a sensing element at or adjacent to a free end of the cantilever that is less compliant than another lever stage disposed interjacent the probing lever stage and where the cantilever is fixed.
In yet another aspect of the preferred embodiment, a scanning probe microscope includes a probe having a cantilever supporting a tip that interacts with a sample. In addition, the scanning probe microscope includes a drive to drive the probe, wherein the probe and the drive are configured to disperse forces exerted by the sample on the tip.
In another aspect of the preferred embodiment, a method of operating a surface analysis instrument having a probe includes a cantilever having a plurality of regions. The method includes using at least a first one of the regions to interact with a sample, the interaction being coupled to at least a second one of the regions of the probe. The method also includes sensing a response of the second one of the regions and controlling a positioning stage in response to the sensing step.
In another aspect of this preferred embodiment, the regions of the probe include an outwardly extending sensing lever section that, at least during operation, has a spring constant that is different than a spring constant of another section adjacent to the one section.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.
A preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout, and in which:
In many AFM applications, a relatively stiff cantilever is desired. For example, cantilevers, including cantilevers designed for oscillatory mode use, such as those in particular those used for TappingMode™ operation, have been constructed so as to be relatively stiff throughout its entire lever length such that the cantilever has a relatively high spring constant throughout. For example, cantilevers designed for TappingMode™ operation typically have a spring constant that is constant along its lever length that typically ranges somewhere between 10 N per meter and 100 N per meter. Such a stiff cantilever advantageously enables tapping of the probe tip on or in close proximity to a sample being analyzed to minimize sample damage while enabling it to break the force of adhesion between it and the sample quickly enough to keep it oscillating at or sufficiently near resonance to provide excellent response and resolution.
While a high stiffness cantilever helps to more quickly break the tip free of adhesion and/or attractive forces, when unexpectedly high adhesion and/or attractive forces are encountered, such as due to dust or hydrophilic conditions, its high stiffness limits its ability to bend or “give” a great deal. This can cause the cantilever to become damaged or fail before any force sensing and control arrangement of the measurement instrument is able to react. For example, where the measurement instrument is an AFM that employs an optical lever force sensing feedback arrangement, the rate at which cantilever deflection occurs when encountering such unexpectedly high adhesion and/or attractive forces can be too fast for feedback information to be obtained in time enough for the AFM controller to react and/or for the AFM controller to react fast enough to reduce cantilever force buildup and/or reduce cantilever force.
With continued reference to
The probing lever stage 42 preferably includes a sensing element 46 that preferably is a cantilever tip 48 of conventional construction or the like. The probing lever stage 42 preferably has a stiffness of at least 10 N per meter. In one exemplary embodiment, the probing lever stage 42 has a stiffness along its length, L1, that ranges from about 10 N per meter to as much as about 100 N per meter, with its spring constant preferably being substantially constant along its entire length, L1.
The more complaint lever stage 44 of the cantilever 41 depicted in
Moreover, the more compliant lever stage 44 has a length, L2, along a direction generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the probing lever stage 42 that is greater than the length, L1, of the probing lever stage 42. In one exemplary embodiment, L2 is at least a plurality of times greater than L1. More importantly, however, is that the controlling lever L2 used for feedback control should generally be about 100 times softer than the probing lever L1. As a result of using a more compliant lever stage 44, cantilever force, namely tip and/or probing lever stage force, transmitted to the more compliant lever stage 44 causes at least a portion of stage 44 to deflect more quickly and by a greater magnitude than the stiffer probing lever stage 42. This enables any measurement instrument force detecting arrangement employed to detect changes in cantilever force(s) to do so more quickly and with greater accuracy/sensitivity. By obtaining force measurement data or information from a more compliant lever stage 44, the detected force changes are conveyed to the measurement instrument control arrangement more quickly than in conventional TappingMode. As a result, the control arrangement can responsively adjust the deflection of the probe and/or how the probe 40 is driven (if such adjustment is determined to be needed) in order to reduce cantilever force buildup and/or reduce force(s).
For example, where an optical lever force detection arrangement is used, the deflection sensing beam is focused onto a portion of the more compliant lever stage 44, such as the target area shown in phantom in
In the exemplary embodiment depicted in
While the probe 40 can be driven using one or more conventional drive actuators, such as one or more piezoelectric drive actuators or the like, the probe 40 can also be directly driven, if desired. If desired, one or more drive actuators in operable cooperation with the cantilever itself can be employed instead of or in addition to one or more of the aforementioned conventional drive actuators.
For example,
In the exemplary embodiment depicted in
In one exemplary embodiment, each drive actuator 60 and 62 is a direct contact thermal drive that drives the probe 40 via applied heat creating a thermal stress differential therebetween. Where a thermal drive actuator is employed, each thermal drive actuator preferably is of resistance heating element construction such that electric current of an applied drive signal controls cantilever heating and cooling to regulate the thermal stress differential. Each drive actuator can be driven with a common drive signal or a drive signal applied to one drive actuator that differs in some respect relative to the drive signal applied to the other drive actuator providing independent drive actuator control capabilities.
Depending how driven, the drive actuator arrangement 58 can be driven to deflect the cantilever 40 toward and/or away from a sample being analyzed in the Z-direction, can be driven to cause the tip 48 to displace at an angle relative to a central longitudinal axis of the cantilever 40 in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction (preferably where a plurality of drive actuators, such as 60 and 62, are used and independently driven), and/or can be driven to cause the cantilever 40 to displace or deflect in the ±Y-direction (preferably where a plurality of drive actuators, such as 60 and 62, are used and independently driven).
In a preferred method of operation, the probe 40 is driven so as to oscillate the probing lever stage 42 at a frequency, ωhigh, such as where it is desired to cause intermittent contact interaction between the sample and probe tip 48. Preferably, the probe 40 is driven to oscillate the probing lever stage 42 at a resonant frequency, such as when it is desired to operate it in TappingMode™. The higher frequency oscillation operation of the probing lever stage 42 gives the probe 40 sufficient energy to avoid sticking to the surface of the sample under normal conditions. In addition, this also prevents dragging the tip 48 across the surface of the sample during scanning.
The longer more compliant lever stage 44 provides support for the shorter higher stiffness probing lever stage 42 and its lower stiffness helps dissipate at least some of the force applied to the probing lever stage 42 in the case where tapping or intermittent contact amplitude goes to zero. At least some of the force applied to the stiffer, higher modulus, probing lever stage 42 is transmitted to the softer, more compliant, lower modulus lever stage 44, causing that stage 44 to deflect before the probing lever stage 42 does, advantageously relieving stress buildup in the probing lever segment 42 that would have previously tended to cause probe damage or failure. In general, the force applied to probing lever stage 42 is instantly coupled to lever stage 44 as long as the average force is at a frequency less than fundamental resonance (ωlow) of stage 44 (See also Appendices A, B, C and D attached hereto) Turning to
Where an optical arrangement like that depicted in
Such information, which can be in the form of one or more signals 76 and 78 outputted by the detector 74, are outputted to a controller 80, such as a digital, analog, or hybrid controller, that is used to determine how to drive the cantilever 40, including in such a manner to control relative position between the cantilever 40 and sample 34 in the X, Y and Z directions. In the preferred embodiment shown in
While
Moreover, if desired, a direct contact drive actuator constructed in accordance with that depicted in
When driving the probe 40 such that the probing lever stage 42 is being oscillated at its resonant frequency, tapping force on the probing lever stage 42 is instantly transmitted to the more compliant lever stage 44, causing it to substantially instantly deflect where the transmitted force is great enough. Such instantaneous response by the more compliant lever stage 44 preferably holds true up to its resonant frequency.
The transmitted force preferably causes the more compliant lever stage 44 to deflect or oscillate at a frequency, ωlow, that is less than the higher frequency, Φhigh, at which the stiffer, less compliant, probing lever stage 42 is being driven. With this knowledge, it is advantageous to obtain feedback, such as in the manner depicted in
This cantilever construction, AFM arrangement, and method of use and operation provides several advantages. For example, since deflection measurement preferably is done using the more compliant lever stage 44, its larger surface area exposed toward the beam generator advantageously provides an incident beam target 64 that is much larger than that which could be used of the stiffer probing lever stage 42. This enables use of a laser or other type of beam emitter having a larger beam spot where the incident beam impinges against the more compliant lever stage 44, especially when using a short or otherwise unconventionally small probing lever 42.
A high frequency preamplifier or amplitude modulator is not needed. For example, with the present invention, to achieve a one frame per second imaging speed, a detection arrangement having a bandwidth of no more than about 50 kHz is needed, which is much less than the 1 MHz bandwidth presently available. As a result, there is plenty of bandwidth headroom available to achieve imaging speeds faster than one frame per second and preferably much faster than one frame per second.
Force and/or deflection detection using a more compliant lever stage 44 is instantaneous for all forces transmitted thereto from the probing lever stage 42 in its bandwidth range below its fundamental resonance. As a result, unexpectedly large adhesion and/or attraction forces encountered during imaging are detected instantly as they are encountered, providing the controller greater time in which to react and adjust how the probe 40 is driven to help reduce the rate of cantilever force buildup and/or force to an acceptable level that minimizes cantilever damage and failure. This enables feedback based on, e.g., the deflection of the more compliant lever stage 44. The deflection response time is similar to that when operating in conventional Contact Mode, and as such the preferred embodiments are much faster than conventional TappingMode, in which the corresponding time constant is defined by Equation 2.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it is capable of providing the ability to base feedback on average tapping force just by position and/or force detection using the more compliant lever stage 44. While AFMs using conventional oscillatory mode cantilevers often base feedback on amplitude, the higher cantilever stiffness does not provide a straightforward dependence on amplitude. The tapping force is not monotonic with amplitude as it typically depends upon sample material properties, etc.
In contrast, the use of a more compliant lever stage 44 that is longer than the probing lever stage 42 provides a more consistent measure of tapping force that is independent of the material of which the sample is composed, oscillation frequency, drive phase, and other factors that can impact the data determined based on changes in one or more probe properties. The more compliant lever stage 44 advantageously directly and dumbly responds to whatever actual tapping force is generated and experienced by the probing lever stage 42. Moreover, the lever stage 44 operates to absorb unexpected high forces such as may be caused by feedback loop failure in standard TappingMode operation, thus minimizing damage to the tip and/or sample as a result of not, or not quickly enough, adjusting probe oscillation back to the setpoint.
As is shown in
The probe 96 is driven or excited to cause the it to oscillate it at a higher mode of its resonance, which imparts a higher effective spring constant, resonant frequency and Q to the probing lever section 100 than lever section 98. This desirably helps prevent tip 104 from sticking under both normal conditions and conditions during which unexpectedly high adhesion and/or attractive forces are encountered. In addition, the resultant higher Q provides a desirably low tapping force, which helps prevent sample damage and improves imaging resolution.
As with cantilever 41, the feedback beam target 108 is located somewhere along the more compliant lever section 98. Preferably, the feedback beam target 108 is located at or near a locus of minimal oscillation amplitude, e.g., a node, such as is depicted in
One advantage of the present embodiment and implementation of the invention is that a lower stiffness contact mode cantilever of conventional construction can be used. In this regard, a conventional cantilever having a constant width and/or thickness and made of the same material along its entire length can be used and driven or excited in a manner that produces cantilever 96. Another advantage is that higher order mode(s) can be excited mechanically and via direct cantilever drive actuators without requiring the need to use more complex drive schemes such as thermal excitation. That said, a thermal drive actuator of the type depicted in
Turning to
Although the best mode contemplated by the inventors for carrying out the present invention is disclosed above, practice of the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be manifest that various additions, modifications and rearrangements of the features of the present invention may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept. The scope of still other changes to the described embodiments that fall within the present invention but that are not specifically discussed above will become apparent from the appended claims.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. Section 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/674,967, filed Apr. 26, 2005, the entirety of which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60674967 | Apr 2005 | US |