Patent ID: 8656509

Claim:
A scanning probe microscope which measures a surface shape of a sample by bringing a probe into proximal to or contact with the surface of the sample, comprising: a probe; a probe holder that holds the probe; probe drive unit that drives the probe holder at least in a vertical direction; first measurement unit which measures a position of the probe drive unit in the vertical direction; sample stage unit movable in a plane, on which a sample is mounted; second measurement unit which measures a position of the sample stage unit in a direction orthogonal to the plane; vertical rough stage unit configured to change a vertical relative position between the probe held by the probe holder and the sample stage unit; horizontal rough stage unit configured to change a horizontal relative position between the probe held by the probe holder and the sample stage unit; detection unit which detects a contact state between the sample and the probe held by the probe holder; and image generation unit that generates an image of the sample surface using information obtained through measurement performed by the first measurement unit, information obtained through measurement performed by the second measurement unit, and information obtained through detection performed by the detection unit.