scanning Probe Microscopy with Inherent Disturbance suppression Using Micromechanical Devices

Scanning probe microscopes are notoriously susceptible to disturbances, or mechanical noise, from the surrounding environment that couple to the probe–sample interaction. These disturbances include vibrations of mechanical components, piezo drift, and thermal expansion. Disturbance effects can be substantially reduced by designing a rigid microscope, incorporating effective vibration isolation, and selecting an appropriate measurement bandwidth and image filter. However, it is not always possible to satisfy these requirements sufficiently, and as a result, critical features in an image can be obscured.