METHOD FOR LOCALLY HIGHLY RESOLVED, MASS-SPECTROSCOPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF SURFACES USING SCANNING PROBE TECHNOLOGY

摘要

The invention relates to a combined method in which ahigh-resolution image of a sample surface is recorded by means ofscanning force microscopy and the locally high-resolution, chemicalnature (which is correlated with this) of the sample surface ismeasured by means of mass spectroscopy. The surface is chemicallyanalyzed on the basis of laser desorption of a restricted surfacearea. For this purpose, the surface is illuminated in a pulsed format each point of interest using the optical near-field principle.The optical near-field principle guarantees analysis with a positionresolution which is not diffraction-limited. A hollow tip of themeasurement probe that is used allows unambiguous associationbetween the chemical analysis and a selected surface area. Thehighly symmetrical arrangement allows good transmission of themolecular ions that are produced.