Patent ID: 8782810

Claim:
A scanning probe microscope (SPM) comprising: a scanner that is movable-in an X-Y plane and that supports one of a probe and a sample support, the scanner including a piezoelectric tube assembly that is also movable in a Z direction that is perpendicular to the X-Y plane; an X-axis sensor that is configured to sense displacement of the scanner in the X direction; a Y-axis sensor that is configured to sense displacement of the scanner in the Y direction; a Z-axis sensor that is configured to sense displacement of a portion of the scanner in the Z direction; a mounting arrangement which is coupled to the scanner and on which the X-axis sensor, the Y-axis sensor, and the Z-Axis sensor are mounted in a spaced-apart relationship relative to the scanner, wherein the mounting arrangement includes X, Y, and Z axis flexures that mechanically decouple the X-axis sensor, the Y-axis sensor, and the Z-axis sensor from one another so that the X-axis sensor, the Y-axis sensor, and the Z-axis sensor sense motion essentially exclusively and independently in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z-direction respectively.