ELECTRIC EXPLORING NEEDLE

摘要

PURPOSE: To obtain a probe which can be brought into contact with the sub- micron object in an integrated circuit by finding a prescribed circuit line by scanning the integrated circuit under a scanning proximity microscope and moving the probe while the tip of the probe is electrically brought into contact with the line. CONSTITUTION: An interatomic force microscope 9 incorporates a cantilever spring 16 carrying an element 14 having a conductive front end section. When the element 14 transversely scans the surface of a substrate 2, the height change of the substrate 2 causes an interatomic force between the element 14 and the substrate 2. The spring 16 is deflected by the sum total of the height change. Since a tunnel displacement sensor 18 is installed near the spring 16, electronic clouds surrounding the atom of each object come into contact with each other and a tunnel current flows between the clouds. The tunnel current further flows to a controller 21 and generates a correction signal which is fed back to a piezoelectric bimorph 19. The correction signal moves the sensor 18 from the spring while maintaining a fixed distance between them, is used for the measurement of the surface height of the substrate 2, and is sent to a storage-type scope 28.