Patent ID: 9395388
Filing Date: 2016-07-19
CPC Classification: G01N,G01Q

Claim Text:
1. A method for performing enhanced electrostatic and atomic force microscopy, the method comprising: applying an alternating current (AC) bias and a direct current (DC) bias to an atomic force microscopy cantilever, wherein the AC bias has a frequency greater than a fundamental resonance frequency of the cantilever; mechanically vibrating the cantilever at a frequency different from the frequency of the AC bias and wherein applying the DC bias includes using the DC bias together with the AC bias to cause the cantilever to vibrate at the frequency greater than the fundamental resonance frequency of the cantilever; physically and electrostatically scanning a sample in the same pass using the cantilever while vibrating the cantilever and applying the AC and DC biases to the cantilever, and generating a topography image of the sample from the physical scanning and an electrostatic image of charged material under or on a surface of the sample from the electrostatic scanning, wherein physically and electrostatically scanning the sample includes monitoring a change in cantilever vibration amplitude as a function of sample position.