Patent ID: 9267963
Filing Date: 2016-02-23
CPC Classification: B82Y,G01Q

Claim Text:
1. An atomic-force microscope system for estimating a physical property of a surface, the atomic-force microscope system including a high-bandwidth AFM probe comprising: a cantilever body that has a longitudinal axis along a first direction, wherein the cantilever body is characterized by a first resonance frequency that is along a second direction that is substantially orthogonal with the first direction; a sensor having a first end and a second end, the sensor and the cantilever body being attached at the first end, wherein the sensor includes a diffraction grating whose quiescent diffraction characteristics change monotonically along the first direction from the first end to the second end, and wherein the sensor is characterized by a second resonance frequency along the second direction that is higher than the first resonance frequency; a tip, the tip and the sensor being mechanically coupled at the second end; and a light source that provides a first light signal to the sensor, wherein: (a) the first light signal is incident on the sensor at a first position under a first set of conditions; (b) the first light signal is incident on the sensor at a second position under a second set of conditions, wherein: