METHOD FOR LOCALLY HIGHLY RESOLVED, MASS-SPECTROSCOPIC CHARACTERISATION OF SURFACES USING SCANNING PROBE TECHNOLOGY

摘要

The invention relates to a combined method, according to which a high-resolution reproduction of a sample surface is registered using scanning force microscopy and a locally highly resolved chemical nature of the sample surface, said nature being correlated with the reproduction, is measured using mass spectroscopy. The chemical analysis of the surface takes place after the laser desorption of a limited surface area. To achieve said desorption, the surface is illuminated at each relevant point by pulses according to the optical near field principle. The optical near-field principle guarantees an analysis with a local resolution that provides unlimited diffraction. A hollow tip of the measuring probe that is used permits the unique allocation of the chemical analysis to a selected surface area. The highly symmetrical arrangement enables a high degree of transmission of the generated molecular ions.