Method and apparatus for measuring characteristic of specimen and its application to high frequency response measurement with scanning probe microscopes

摘要

An apparatus for measuring a characteristic of a specimen, includes a probe for scanning a surface of the specimen in a noncontacting state, a vibrating unit for vibrating the probe, an excitation field generating unit for generating an amplitude modulation signal which is amplitude-modulated with a modulation frequency and a carrier frequency and producing an excitation field at the surface of the specimen on the basis of the generated amplitude modulation signal, and a measuring unit for measuring a force interaction between the probe and the specimen caused by the excitation field generated at the surface of the specimen.