Probe cassette for holding a probe in storage for use in a scanning probe microscope

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11709181-B2
Application number	US-202017770801-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 6, 2020
Priority date	Nov 7, 2019
Publication date	Jul 25, 2023
Grant date	Jul 25, 2023

Abstract

The present disclosure concerns probe cassette 1 for holding a probe 60 in storage to provide automated transfer of the probe to a probe mount of a scanning probe microscope. The probe cassette comprising a first vacuum chamber C1 with a volume V1, and a second vacuum chamber C2 with a volume V2, and a first and second vacuum channel 10, respectively fluidly connecting the first and second vacuum chamber to an outlet 30 fluidly connectable to an external vacuum, such that upon application of the external vacuum a mounting position of the probe relative to the cassette and a mounting position of the cassette relative to the sample stage is maintained. The probe cassette arranged to allow breaking a vacuum condition in the second chamber maintaining the mounting position of the probe before breaking a vacuum condition in the first chamber maintaining a mounting position of the probe cassette.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A probe cassette for holding a probe in storage for use in a scanning probe microscope, the scanning probe microscope including a selectively activatable pick-up arranged to provide automated transfer of the probe in the probe cassette when mounted on a sample stage of the scanning probe microscope to a probe mount of the scanning probe microscope, the probe cassette comprising:
a mounting surface arranged to define a first vacuum chamber with a volume V 1 for holding the probe cassette onto the sample stage, and
at least a first probe pocket comprising a pocket surface arranged to define a second vacuum chamber with a volume V 2 for holding the probe in storage; and
a first vacuum channel with a flow resistance R 1 and a second vacuum channel with a flow resistance R 2 , respectively, fluidly connecting the first vacuum chamber and the second vacuum chamber to an outlet fluidly connectable to an external vacuum, such that upon application of the external vacuum, a mounting position of the probe relative to the cassette and a mounting position of the cassette relative to the sample stage is maintained;
wherein the probe cassette is arranged to allow breaking a vacuum condition in the second vacuum chamber maintaining the mounting position of the probe before breaking of a vacuum condition in the first vacuum chamber maintaining a mounting position of the probe cassette.

2. The probe cassette according to claim 1 , wherein the first vacuum channel, the second vacuum channel, the first vacuum chamber and the second vacuum chamber are dimensioned such that a characteristic vacuum release time constant of the first vacuum chamber is larger than both a characteristic vacuum release time constant of the second vacuum chamber and a characteristic transfer time (T 3 ) of the selectively activatable pick up, such that upon a reduction of the external vacuum the probe can be transferred to the probe mount before releasing the mounting position of the cassette.

3. The probe cassette according to claim 1 ,
wherein the outlet is:
included on the mounting surface, and
separated at a distance from the first vacuum chamber, and

wherein the outlet is arranged to interface with a vacuum channel provided on the sample stage.

4. The probe cassette according to claim 1 , wherein the cassette comprises a plurality of pockets.

5. The probe cassette according to claim 1 , wherein the mounting surface comprises a kinematic mounting for mounting the cassette with high accuracy and/or reproducibility on the sample stage of the scanning probe microscope.

6. A system comprising:
a probe cassette for holding a probe in storage, the probe cassette comprising:
a mounting surface arranged to define a first vacuum chamber with a volume V 1 for holding the probe cassette onto the sample stage, and
at least a first probe pocket comprising a pocket surface arranged to define a second vacuum chamber with a volume V 2 for holding the probe in storage; and
a first vacuum channel with a flow resistance R 1 and a second vacuum channel with a flow resistance R 2 , respectively, fluidly connecting the first vacuum chamber and the second vacuum chamber to an outlet fluidly connectable to an external vacuum, such that upon application of the external vacuum, a mounting position of the probe relative to the cassette and a mounting position of the cassette relative to the sample stage is maintained;
wherein the probe cassette is arranged to allow breaking a vacuum condition in the second vacuum chamber maintaining the mounting position of the probe before breaking of a vacuum condition in the first vacuum chamber maintaining a mounting position of the probe cassette; and

a scanning probe microscope including a selectively activatable pick-up arranged to provide automated transfer of the probe in the probe cassette when mounted on a sample stage of the scanning probe microscope to a probe mount of the scanning probe microscope.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the first vacuum channel, the second vacuum channel, the first vacuum chamber and the second vacuum chamber are dimensioned such that a characteristic vacuum release time constant of the first vacuum chamber is larger than both a characteristic vacuum release time constant of the second vacuum chamber and a characteristic transfer time (T 3 ) of the selectively activatable pick up, such that upon a reduction of the external vacuum the probe can be transferred to the probe mount before releasing the mounting position of the cassette.

8. The system of claim 6 ,
wherein the outlet is:
included on the mounting surface, and
separated at a distance from the first vacuum chamber, and

wherein the outlet is arranged to interface with a vacuum channel provided on the sample stage.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein the cassette comprises a plurality of pockets.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the mounting surface comprises a kinematic mounting for mounting the cassette with high accuracy and/or reproducibility on the sample stage of the scanning probe microscope.

11. A method for automated transfer of a probe in a probe cassette to a probe mount of a scanning probe microscope including a selectively activatable pick-up, the method comprising:
providing a probe cassette bearing a probe to the sample stage of a scanning probe microscope, the probe cassette being a probe cassette for holding a probe in storage for use in a scanning probe microscope, the scanning probe microscope including a selectively activatable pick-up arranged to provide automated transfer of the probe in the probe cassette when mounted on a sample stage of the scanning probe microscope to a probe mount of the scanning probe microscope, the probe cassette comprising:
a mounting surface arranged to define a first vacuum chamber with a volume V 1 for holding the probe cassette onto the sample stage, and
at least a first probe pocket comprising a pocket surface arranged to define a second vacuum chamber with a volume V 2 for holding the probe in storage; and
a first vacuum channel with a flow resistance R 1 and a second vacuum channel with a flow resistance R 2 , respectively, fluidly connecting the first vacuum chamber and the second vacuum chamber to an outlet fluidly connectable to an external vacuum, such that upon application of the external vacuum, a mounting position of the probe relative to the cassette and a mounting position of the cassette relative to the sample stage is maintained;
wherein the probe cassette is arranged to allow breaking a vacuum condition in the second vacuum chamber maintaining the mounting position of the probe before breaking of a vacuum condition in the first vacuum chamber maintaining a mounting position of the probe cassette;

applying an external vacuum to the outlet of the probe cassette such that a mounting position of the probe relative to the cassette and a mounting position of the cassette relative to the sample stage is maintained;
providing relative movement between sample stage and probe mount to align the probe relative to the probe mount;
activating the selectively activatable pick-up;
releasing a vacuum to the outlet after aligning a position of the probe relative to the probe mount to reduce a vacuum level maintaining the mounting position of the probe relative to the cassette to allow transfer of the probe from the pocket to the probe mount; and
re-applying the vacuum to the outlet before the vacuum level maintaining a mounting position of the cassette relative to the sample stage is reduced to a level at which the mounting position of the probe relative to the cassette and a mounting position of the cassette relat

Assignees

• TNO

Inventors

• Herfst Roelof Willem
• Kramer Lukas
• Bijnagte Anton Adriaan

Classifications

• G01Q70/02 Primary

  Probe holders · CPC title

• G01Q70/00 Primary

  General aspects of SPM probes, their manufacture or their related instrumentation, insofar as they are not specially adapted to a single SPM technique covered by group G01Q60/00 · CPC title