Scanning probe microscope

摘要

An atomic force microscope (AFM) (1) is one type of SPM, and detects a resonance frequency shift as an amount of interaction between a probe and a sample. The AFM (1) performs distance modulation control while performing feedback control of a probe-sample distance so as to keep the amount of interaction constant. The distance modulation control varies the probe-sample distance at a distance modulation frequency higher than a response speed of the feedback control. The AFM (1) further acquires the interaction amounts detected during the variation of the probe-sample distance by the distance modulation control while performing relative scanning between the probe and the sample, and detects a distribution of the interaction amounts in a three-dimensional space having a dimension within a scanning range and a thickness within a variation range of the probe-sample distance. The present invention thereby provides a scanning probe microscope (SPM) capable of preferably measuring the distribution of the interactions between the probe and the sample in the three-dimensional space while performing stable probe position control.