Patent ID: 8887311

Claim:
A scanning probe microscope, comprising: a cantilever provided with a probe arranged so as to face a specimen; a laser light source which outputs a laser light; a first reflector which guides laser light radiated from said laser light source toward said cantilever; a second reflector which guides laser light reflected from said cantilever toward a photodetector; a photodetector which detects said laser light; and a video camera which observes the location in the vicinity of the cantilever for optical axis adjustment of said laser light, and a display means which displays, on the video camera image, a cantilever location marker which indicates the location of said cantilever and a laser light center of luminance location marker which indicates the location of the center of luminance of said laser light, wherein the laser light center of luminance location marker moves over the video camera image in a manner that tracks the movement of said laser light.