Microfabricated microscope assembly

摘要

A microfabricated microscope assembly including a piezoelectric bimorph cantilever arm mounted at one end to a first substrate. The free end of the canitlever arm has a tip mounted thereto for scanning a scanned surface mounted on a second substrate. The cantilever arm and the substrate are configured to carry out a predetermined write or read mode of operation, such as scanning tunneling microscopy or atomic force microscopy. The two substrates are spaced apart a fixed distance by spacer feet which project from one of the substrates and which have their ends fixed to ther surface of the other substrate by eutectic, aniodic, or adhesive bonding. An array of microfabricated microscope assemblies is formed using a plurality of individual assemblies. A number of different write/read modes of operation are accommodated, such as charge storage, molecular attachment, or magnetic domains. An array of piezoelectric cantilever arms having tips fixed to the free ends thereof and mounted to a substrate form are used to scan a scanned surface. The array is moved laterally with respect to the scanned surface using mechanical actuators as micropositioners for coarse positioning and using the piezoelectric cantilever arms for fine positioning.