Apparatus and method for providing square wave to atomic force microscope

摘要

An apparatus and method for providing an input signal having a desired pulse width and amplitude to atomic force miscoscopes (AFMs) for use in nano-lithography are provided. An input signal providing apparatus for a contact type AFM includes: a pulse width adjusting unit which adjusts the width of a positive pulse of an input square wave to a predetermined pulse width; and an amplitude adjusting unit which adjusts the amplitude of the positive pulse of the square wave to a predetermined voltage. An input signal providing method for the contact type AFM uses the apparatus having this structure. An input signal providing apparatus for a non-contact type AFM further includes a square pulse generating unit which generates a square pulse having a predetermined phase in synchronization with an input resonance signal, and an input signal providing method for the non-contact type AFM further involves generating the square pulse having a predetermined phase in synchronization with the input resonance signal. As a result, more precise nano-lithography can be achieved using an AFM to which the apparatus and method described above are applied.