Method and system for refurbishing a probe for use in a scanning probe microscope device, and computer program product

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of refurbishing a probe for use in a scanning probe microscope device, the probe being a used or damaged probe, the probe comprising a cantilever and a probe tip. The method includes receiving the probe, determining an existing probe structure of the probe, and mapping the existing probe structure to obtain the existing probe structure data. The method further includes identifying deviations of the probe from an original probe structure of the probe before the use or before the damage based on the existing probe structure data. Structural modification data indicative of structural modifications to modify the probe is determined based on the deviations, and the existing probe structure is modified in accordance with the structural modification data by at least one of a precision material deposition process or a precision material removal process to perform the refurbishing of the probe. The method is further directed to a system and a computer program product for operating the system.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is an imaging technique that makes it possible to provide images of surface and subsurface structures on the nanometer scale. The technique is non-optical and therefore not diffraction limited, so that it can be applied, for example, in semiconductor manufacturing processes, where the structures of integrated circuits become so small that optical imaging is no longer sufficient due to the diffraction limit. However, scanning probe microscopy is applied in other contexts as well, as a good alternative to optical imaging or scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This specification relates to SPM in general, and not in particular to the application of SPM in any technical field.

[0002] Scanning probe microscopes operate on the basis of a probe with a cantilever and a probe tip (typically the tip of a cantilever) that moves relative to the surface of a substrate, either continuously or intermittently in contact therewith. By "contact" we mean that the probe tip is at least close to the surface so that their influence becomes significant in the transfer function of the dynamic behavior of the probe. SPM is performed in a variety of different modes, but the most common modes are contact mode, intermittent contact mode, and non-contact mode. In contact mode, the probe tip remains in contact with the surface during scanning. When encountering a structure on the surface, the probe tip is pushed up (e.g. a block) or dropped down (such as a trench). This change in deflection in the probe tip is compensated for by feedback, thereby allowing the height or depth of the structure to be accurately determined. In intermittent contact mode, or tapping mode, the probe oscillates over the surface and intermittently contacts the surface. Thereby, the difference in the minimum (or maximum) of the deflection indicates a change in height or depth, and using a compensating feedback loop which re-establishes the original minimum (or maximum), the height or depth can also be accurately determined. In non-contact mode, the probe tip is moved very close such that the effect of the surface on the dynamic behavior of the probe is encountered.

[0003] Above we have briefly described measurements on surfaces, also referred to as surface topography measurements. In the case of subsurface measurements, ultrasonic vibrations may additionally be applied to the probe or the sample or both, and the presence of subsurface features allows detection of the resulting waves measurable on the surface, which also allows their imaging.

[0004] Whatever mode or technique is applied, the probes used in SPM will quickly wear out during imaging because their probe tips are typically very small and fragile. This requires that the probes be replaced frequently. Moreover, the probes may be damaged in other ways or may attract contamination during use, for example from the surface of the substrate to be imaged. Frequent replacement of used probes with new probes, for example during long-term use in a production process, makes implementing SPM costly. Moreover, frequent replacement is also undesirable from an environmental point of view, since each probe must be manufactured and then transported to the location where it is to be used. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to increase the durability of probes for use in scanning probe microscopes and to reduce the effort and energy expended in replacing probes in a scanning probe microscope process. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To this end, according to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of refurbishment of a probe for use in a scanning probe microscope device, wherein the probe is a used or damaged probe, the probe comprising a cantilever and a probe tip, the method comprising: receiving the probe; determining an existing probe structure of the probe and mapping the existing probe structure to obtain the existing probe structure data; identifying a deviation of the probe from an original probe structure of the probe before the use or before the damage based on the existing probe structure data; determining structural modification data indicative of structural modifications for modifying the probe based on the deviation; and modifying the existing probe structure in accordance with the structural modification data using a precision material deposition process to perform the refurbishment of the probe.

[0007] The present invention provides a method for refurbishing (repairing) used or damaged probes, thereby anticipating the need to completely replace the probes. Moreover, the method can be performed entirely in situ, thus enabling an efficient replacement method. For example, in an industrial environment where probes are replaced very frequently and continuously, it allows a pool of probe tips containing probes to be worked with, for example distributed in multiple cassettes. One of the cassettes is used in an SPM system, from which a replacement probe can be picked up and used, while a probe in another cassette that has been used and replaced can be refurbished using the method of the present invention. Thereby, the SPM system operates continuously and the probes are continually refurbished. This can continue until further refurbishing of one or more probes is no longer feasible, in which case only these few probes need to be replaced by new probes. The present invention is based on the insight that conventionally there was no available method for refurbishing probes, thereby offering substantial advantages in terms of efficiency and durability by anticipating therefrom.

[0008] In particular, the invention allows for better control of the repairing process. By determining the existing probe structure and its mapping, deviations of the probe from the original probe structure can be identified, which deviations may optionally be stored as deviation data or directly used to determine structural modification data. Any damage to the probe tip or the cantilever can therefore be accurately determined, as well as the shape or nature of such structural damage. For example, if there is a dust particle or a substrate fragment on the probe tip, its shape can be determined and the contamination can be accurately removed. As a result, the method allows for limiting repairs to only the contamination, if desired. In another example, if the apex of the probe tip is lost due to wear, its shape can be accurately reconstructed by comparing the probe tip to the original design of the probe tip, or, in the case of a more standard or regular tip shape, by extrapolation of the existing edges or by projecting the desired tip shape onto the damaged part. Therefore, according to some embodiments, determining the structural modification data comprises determining the location or shape of damage on the probe, for example damage caused by broken parts, wear or contamination.

[0009] With reference to the above examples, the steps of identifying deviations and determining structure modification data may be performed in different ways. Moreover, it may be performed as one integrated process or as several steps. For example, in some embodiments, the step of identifying deviations includes obtaining probe structure design data indicative of an original probe structure design; and comparing existing probe structure data with the probe structure design data to perform the identifying. When the original probe structure design is known or can be reproduced, this method allows the deviations to be accurately identified and the shape to be modeled to provide structure modification data. In other or further embodiments, the step of identifying deviations includes analyzing the existing probe structure data to estimate a predicted original probe structure design, and comparing the existing probe structure data with the predicted original probe structure design to perform the identifying. This step requires less data storage capacity and can be performed relatively quickly, for example using pattern recognition algorithms or extrapolation, and therefore may be useful, for example, for probe tips with more standard or regular shapes. In some of these latter embodiments, the analyzing is performed by at least one of: extrapolating a probe tip edge to determine a predicted location of a probe tip apex in a predicted original probe structure design; applying a learned machine learning data processing model to perform the estimating; comparing the existing probe structure data to one or more different types of standard probe structure designs to determine similarities, and estimating the predicted original probe structure design based on the similarities.

[0010] According to some embodiments, the precision material deposition process is an electron beam deposition (EBD) process. This process can be precisely controlled to perform repairs by depositing material only where desired according to the determined structural modification data. Control can be achieved by controlling parameters such as intensity, beam diameter, and incidence angle of the electron beam on the probe to precisely focus the beam on the area of ​​the probe where material needs to be deposited and to control the deposition rate, deposition area, and growth direction of the deposited material, respectively. Beam control instructions can be predetermined based on the structural modification data, or can be controlled in situ by monitoring the process, for example using an optical microscope.

[0011] Similarly, according to some embodiments, the precision material removal process is a focused ion beam (FIB) process. FIB systems use a finely focused ion beam (usually gallium) that can be operated at high beam currents for site-specific milling. As above, this is achieved by precisely focusing the beam onto the area of ​​the probe where material needs to be removed, and controlling parameters such as ion beam intensity, beam diameter, and angle of incidence of the ion beam on the probe to control the milling speed, milling area, and removal direction, respectively. According to some embodiments, by combining both EBD and FIB, repairs can be performed precisely according to the determined structural modification data.

[0012] In some embodiments, receiving the probe comprises retrieving a probe tip containing the probe from a probe tip cassette. As briefly explained above, this conveniently allows the method to be inter alia carried out in parallel or close to a scanning probe microscopy process, where a cassette of used or damaged probes is provided to a probe refurbishing unit or system, while an SPM system is provided with a cassette of replacement probes for replacement during use. Used probes are refurbished from a cassette with used probes, while at the same time the SPM continues to operate using another cassette of new or refurbished probes.

[0013] In some embodiments, determining the existing probe structure includes acquiring an image of the probe tip or the cantilever; and performing a pattern recognition algorithm that enables the mapping of the existing probe structure to acquire the existing probe structure data. For this purpose, various imaging techniques can be used. However, in some embodiments, the image is acquired using at least one of an optical microscope or a scanning electron microscope. An optical microscope is sufficient in terms of accuracy, is efficient, and has a convenient small form factor.

[0014] According to some embodiments, the step of determining the structural modification data includes determining one or more components to be added or removed from the probe during the modifying step. This allows used probes to be refurbished and additionally modified to perform other functions. For example, a conventional conical probe tip can be transformed into a high aspect ratio probe tip, a hammerhead probe tip, or a probe tip array with multiple tips. In these embodiments, the step of determining one or more components to be added or removed may optionally include determining the shape of the one or more components to be added or removed. This can be used to provide additional data included in the structural modification data. Thus, according to some embodiments, the method further includes obtaining modified design data indicative of one or more further modifications of the original probe structural design, and the step of determining structural modification data includes using the modified design data in addition to the deviation to determine the structural modification data to include one or more further modifications.

[0015] According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a system for refurbishing a used or damaged probe for use in a scanning probe microscope device, wherein the probe comprises a cantilever and a probe tip, the system comprising a probe capture unit for capturing the probe, an imaging unit for acquiring an image of the probe, and a controller cooperating with a memory or data storage, wherein the controller determines an existing probe structure of the probe and maps the existing probe structure to obtain the existing probe structure data; and determining, based on the deviation, structural modification data indicative of structural modifications for modifying the probe to enable the refurbishing of the probe, and wherein the system further comprises a precision material deposition unit configured to perform the structural modifications, and wherein the controller is configured to cooperate with the precision material deposition unit or the precision material removal unit to modify the existing probe structure in accordance with the structural modification data by the precision material deposition unit and to perform the refurbishing of the probe. According to some embodiments thereof, the system may further comprise a precision material removal unit configured to perform the structural modifications, and wherein the controller is configured to cooperate with the precision material deposition unit or the precision material removal unit to modify the existing probe structure in accordance with the structural modification data by the precision material deposition unit and to perform the refurbishing of the probe.

[0016] According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions for causing the system according to the second aspect to carry out the steps of the method of the invention according to the first aspect. According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program according to the third aspect.

[0017] The present invention will be further elucidated by the description of some specific embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings. The detailed description herein provides examples of possible implementations of the present invention, but is not to be considered as describing the only embodiments falling within the scope thereof. The scope of the present invention is defined in the claims, and the present specification should be considered as illustrative, without limiting the present invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a method according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a probe tip refurbishment. [Figure 4a] FIG. 4a shows a schematic example of the modification of a probe using the method according to the invention. [Figure 4b] FIG. 4b shows a schematic example of the modification of a probe using the method according to the invention. [Figure 4c] FIG. 4c shows a schematic example of the modification of a probe using a method according to the invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 illustrates a further example of refurbishing a probe tip. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic of a probe tip for use in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a probe refurbishment system 1 according to an embodiment of the invention, suitable for carrying out a method according to an embodiment of the invention. The system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is shown to comprise a robot arm 6 with a probe tip manipulator 5, which allows picking a probe tip 7 equipped with a probe 8 from a cassette 3. The cassette 3 in the embodiment shown serves as a transport carrier for the used probe tips 7. In a system according to an embodiment of the invention, the probe 8 can likewise be loaded into the system in a different manner. As will be understood, the use of the robot arm 6 with the manipulator 5 is entirely optional for the system. In a system according to an embodiment of the invention, the probe 8 can likewise be loaded into the system in different ways. It is possible.

[0020] The system 1 shown in Fig. 1 further comprises an optical microscope 13 for imaging a probe, e.g., probe 8', loaded in the system 1. Furthermore, an electron beam deposition (EBD) unit 16 and a focused ion beam (FIB) unit 17 may be present to allow precise modification of the probe, i.e., precise material deposition or removal processes. These units 16 and 17 are controlled by the system 1, which comprises a controller 18, and are communicatively connected to a data storage 20. The data storage 20 may be any kind of data storage, e.g., an on-board memory in the system 1, or a remote data repository that can be accessed via a data communication network. A computer program is stored in the memory 20 and executed on the system 1, which allows the controller 18 to operate the manipulator 5, the microscope 13, the robot arm 5, which comprises the EBD unit 16 and the FIB unit 17. In another embodiment, the precise material deposition unit 16 may also be provided by a focused ion beam deposition unit. In these embodiments, units 16 and 17 may be different units or may be integrated into a single unit that applies a focused ion beam for both deposition and removal. Those skilled in the art will know how to implement this.

[0021] The embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is just one example of a system. Alternatively, the system 1 may comprise a loading dock for the cassette 3, from which a manipulator picks up the probe 8. Such a manipulator does not have to be a robot arm, as seen in Fig. 1. Moreover, another imaging system 13 suitable for accurately imaging the probe 8', the cantilever 9 and the probe tip 10 may also be applied. For example, other types of imaging means, such as a scanning electron microscope (SEM), may be applied for this purpose. Also, the system 1 of the present invention is not limited to applying an electron beam deposition (EBD) unit 16 and a focused ion beam (FIB) unit 17 as precision material manipulation processes.

[0022] In Figure 1, the system 1 is loaded with a probe 8' obtained from a cassette 3. The cassette 3 comprises a number of cradles 19, where each of the cradles 19 may house a used probe 8. The cradles 19' of the cassette 3 are empty, showing where the probe 8' was obtained by the manipulator 5. To refurbish the probe 8', the system 1 applies a method according to an embodiment of the invention. Such a method is shown diagrammatically in Figure 2 according to one embodiment.

[0023] An example of a probe tip 7 is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 6. The probe tip 7 shown in FIG. 1 may have a similar design, for example, but the probe tip 7 in FIG. 6 is only an example, many different shapes and structures of probe tips are available for scanning probe microscopes, and the application of the method and system according to the embodiments of the present invention is not limited to a certain type of probe tip 7. The example in FIG. 6 is added to discuss various known design parameters and dimensions of a probe 8, without being limited thereto. The probe tip 7 in FIG. 6 serves as a carrying element for a probe 8 comprising a cantilever 9 and a probe tip 10. The holder or carrying element, i.e. the body of the probe tip 7, may have a length and width of several millimeters to facilitate their handling and mounting in an SPM system or in the probe refurbishment system 1 of the present invention. For example, the probe tip 7 in FIG. 6 has macroscopic dimensions of 1.6*3.4 mm2 (square millimeters). The cantilever 9 is configured as a beam having dimensions in the range of 50-500 μm (micrometers) in length, 20-50 μm (micrometers) in width, and 0.4-8 μm (micrometers) in thickness. The cantilever is configured to operate at these lengths with a spring constant in the range of 0.01-50 N / m, and a resonant frequency in the range of 1 kilohertz to 1 megahertz. The probe tip 10 has a cross section of less than 30 nm (nanometers) and a tip height of less than 30 nm (nanometers), preferably 3 nm (nanometers) to 20 nm (nanometers). The shape of the tip 10 can be different depending on the application for which the SPM needs to be performed. Moreover, the material of the probe tip 7 can be selected as required. In the illustrated example, it is a single crystal silicon thin film or a silicon nitride thin film.

[0024] In Fig. 2, the method according to an embodiment of the present invention starts with step 30, where a cassette 3 is loaded into the system 1. As can be seen, in this embodiment, the probe tips 7, which serve as carrier elements for the probes 8, are provided to the system 1 in step 30 via the cassette 3 in which the probe tips 7 reside (e.g., as shown in Fig. 1). Alternatively, the tips 7 may be provided in another manner, e.g., it is also possible to transport the used tips 7 directly from the SPM system into the probe refurbishment system 1 using a suitable transport mechanism. Also, different types of transport carriers 3 may be used.

[0025] The cassette 3 comprises any number of cradles 19, some or all of which may be filled to hold one or more probe tips 7 with probes 8 (each cradle 19 typically holds a single probe 8). In step 32, one of the probes 8' is loaded into the probe refurbishment system 1 for refurbishing. This may be achieved using the robot arm 6 with the manipulator 5, or by a different transport mechanism. For example, it is not necessary to apply a transport mechanism that provides all degrees of freedom of movement provided by the robot arm 6. In another design of the system, the transport mechanism may only allow relative translation between the probe 8 and the functional units of the system (e.g., the microscope 13 (imaging unit), the EBD unit 16 and / or the FIB unit 17), or translation and rotation, or movement in two translational directions with or without one or more rotational degrees of freedom. Once loaded, the probe 8' is held in the system 1 in such a manner as to at least allow its imaging by the optical microscope 13.

[0026] In step 34, such images may be obtained and stored in memory 20 as imaging data for further analysis. In the system of FIG. 1, the imaging unit 13 is an optical microscope 13, but a different type of imaging unit may be applied instead. An optical image recognition process may then be applied to the imaging data in step 38 to determine the existing probe structure of the probe 8′. The image obtained in step 34 may be a single image, however, typically multiple images may be obtained with the microscope 13 in step 34 to allow a three-dimensional analysis of the probe 8′ and any structural damage to the probe tip 10 or cantilever 9. The multiple images may be processed in step 38 to determine the existing three-dimensional probe structure of the probe 8′.

[0027] The data obtained from step 38 is used in step 40 to perform a mapping of the existing probe structure of the probe 8' and to provide existing probe structure data that can be stored in memory 20. If multiple images have been analyzed in step 38, the data of these images is used to perform the mapping in step 40. Then, in step 42, deviations from the original probe structure of the probe 8' before use with the SPM system or before their damage can be identified. This can be done in various ways. In one embodiment, the mapped existing probe structure data from memory 20 can be analyzed by controller 18 to identify deviations. For example, if the probe tip 10 has a regular design, such as a general conical or pyramidal structure, the remaining edges and sides of the structure can be extrapolated to infer the location of the original apex of the tip, i.e., where the apex of the tip was before it was worn during use in the SPM system. Alternatively, the original design of the probe structure of the probe 8' can also be retrieved from memory 20. Thus, for example, the probe structural design data may have been obtained from the manufacturer of the probe 8'. If this data from the manufacturer is not available, a new and undamaged probe 8 of the same type may be imaged in the probe refurbishment system 1 to determine the original probe structural design data. As another alternative, this original probe structural design data may be obtained by loading the probe 8' into the probe refurbishment system 1 while it is not yet in use, before loading it into the SPM system. For example, in an industrial environment, a probe cassette 3 with new probes may be first loaded into the probe refurbishment system 1 in order to map the structure of each probe 8 and to provide the original probe structural design data associated with each probe 8 to be stored in the memory 20. The complete cassette 3 with all probes 8 is then supplied to the SPM system in order to use them.When all of the probes 8 have been used, the cassette 3 is loaded again into the probe refurbishment system 1, which then performs steps 30 to 42 described above to identify any misalignment due to wear or damage to the probes 8 and perform the repairs.

[0028] In addition to the above, according to some embodiments, the method may also further include obtaining modified design data indicative of one or more further modifications of the original probe structural design. These further modifications may relate, for example, to additional structural features that may be added to the probe 8, if desired. For example, the probe tip 10 may be modified so as not to be a high aspect ratio (HAR) tip, or additional probe tips 10 may be added to form an array. Many different types of further modifications are possible in this regard.

[0029] In step 44, structural modification data is determined based on the deviations determined in step 42. This step may include, for example, determining one or more portions of the probe to be added or removed during the modifying step. For example, the shape of one or more portions to be added or removed may be determined. As will be appreciated, the probe tip 10 may wear during use such that its apex becomes flattened or smoothed. Additionally or alternatively, the probe tip 10 may attract dirt particles that adhere to the tip, or the probe tip 10 may become damaged in response to encountering the edge of a relatively hard material. In either of these cases, the used probe 8 deviates from the original probe structural design such that some material is missing (e.g., in the case of wear or damage) and some material is present where it should not be (e.g., in the case of contamination or damage). The structural modification data determining step 44 may then include a step of determining the location or shape of damage on the probe 8, in particular the probe tip 10 or possibly the cantilever 9, e.g., determining broken portions or damage due to wear or contamination. Examples of such misalignments are shown in Figures 3 and 5, but it will be appreciated that the misalignments may manifest themselves in a variety of ways, shapes, forms and levels of severity.

[0030] 3 shows an image of a probe 8 with a cantilever 9 and a probe tip 10. The right side of the figure shows an enlarged view of the probe tip 10, where the remaining sidewall 51 is clearly visible. At the apex of the probe tip 10, the darkened area indicates the location and shape of a destroyed portion 50. The destroyed portion 50 thereby forms a deviation from the original probe structure shape, which can be modeled in steps 42 and 44 and stored as structure modification data. The probe tip 10 can be repaired, including its defect 50, by electron beam deposition using the EBD unit 16.

[0031] In another example, in Figure 5, an image of probe tip 10 is shown that also clearly shows sidewall 51 of tip 10. On the left side of Figure 5, probe tip 10 is shown to have dirt particles 60-1 and 60-2 attached to its side. The image on the right side of Figure 5 illustrates the same probe tip 10 after being refurbished using system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Sidewall 51 has been repaired and dirt particles 60-1 and 60-2 have been removed with a focused ion beam using FIB unit 17.

[0032] Returning to FIG. 2, as already alluded to above, the method and system according to an embodiment of the present invention may also be applied to make possible further modifications to the probe 8 and the probe tip 10. For example, determining structural modification data step 44 may include obtaining modified design data indicative of one or more further modifications of the original probe structural design, which may relate, for example, to additional structural features that may be added to the probe 8. This additional step is optional, and may include, for example, further modifications of the shape of the probe tip 10. In that case, determining structural modification data step 44 may include using the modified design data, e.g. the modified design data from memory 20, in addition to the offset or offset data to determine the structural modification data to include one or more further modifications therein.

[0033] Once the structure modification data is available, for example stored in memory 20, it can be used to modify the existing probe structure to perform the refurbishment of probe 8 in step 46. For example, the EBD unit can be used to repair missing parts of the probe tip 10 that have worn out during use of the probe 8. The EBD unit can also be applied to grow additional structures, such as HAR whiskers, side lobes of the tip 10, or additional tips next to the original probe tip 10. Moreover, the FIB unit can be used to remove undesired structures, such as dirt particles or parts of the probe that are bent or otherwise forming undesired structures on the sidewall 51 of the tip 10.

[0034] If further modifications of the probe 8 are desired, this can also be performed in step 46. For example, further modifications are shown in Figs. 4a-4c. In Fig. 4a, the layout of the desired probe structure of the probe 8'' is shown. The probe tip 10 should be kept similar to the original probe structure design, but the shape of the cantilever 9 should be modified to 9'' shown in Fig. 4a, for example to improve the dynamic behavior. Fig. 4b is an image of the original probe 8 with the cantilever 9 and the probe tip 10. The line 55 indicates the edge of the part of the cantilever 9 that needs to be removed to obtain the modified design 9''. The material of the cantilever 9 can be cut using a focused ion beam as explained above. This would result in the probe design of Fig. 4c, which shows the probe 8'' with the cantilever 9'' and the probe tip 10, similar to the design shown in Fig. 4a.

[0035] Returning to Figure 2, if the probe 8 has been refurbished (e.g., probe 8' in Figure 1), it will be returned to the cassette 3 (or other transport carrier) in step 48. The system may then determine whether a further probe needs to be refurbished from the cassette 3 or whether all of the probes 8 in the cassette 3 have been refurbished. If a new probe 8 is to be obtained from the cassette 3, the method returns to step 32. Otherwise, the method may end after step 48.

[0036] The present invention has been described in terms of several specific embodiments thereof. It will be understood that the embodiments shown in the drawings and described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention in any manner or manner. The context of the invention described herein is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for refurbishing a probe for use in a scanning probe microscope device, where the probe is a used or damaged probe, the probe comprising a cantilever and a probe tip, the method comprising: receiving the probe; determining an existing probe structure of the probe and mapping the existing probe structure to obtain existing probe structure data; identifying a deviation from an original probe structure of the probe prior to the use or damage of the probe based on the existing probe structure data; determining structure modification data indicative of a structural modification for modifying the probe based on the deviation; and modifying the existing probe structure according to the structure modification data using a precision material deposition process to perform the refurbishment of the probe The method comprising.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of modifying the existing probe structure further comprises applying a precision material removal process to perform the refurbishment of the probe.

3. The step of identifying the deviation comprises: obtaining probe structure design data indicative of an original probe structure design; and comparing the existing probe structure data with the probe structure design data to perform the identifying The method according to claim 1, comprising.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the deviation comprises analyzing the existing probe structure data to estimate a predicted original probe structure design and comparing the existing probe structure data with the predicted original probe structure design to perform the identifying.

5. The analyzing comprises: extrapolating a probe tip edge to determine a predicted position of a vertex of the probe tip in a predicted original probe structure design; applying a learned machine learning data processing model to perform the estimating; or comparing the existing probe structure data with one or more different types of standard probe structure designs to determine similarity and estimating the predicted original probe structure design based on the similarity The method according to claim 4, performed by at least one of them.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the step of receiving the probe includes obtaining a probe chip including the probe from a probe chip cassette.

7. Determining the existing probe structure includes: Obtaining an image of the probe chip or the cantilever; and Executing a pattern recognition algorithm that enables mapping of the existing probe structure to obtain the existing probe structure data. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the image is obtained using at least one of an optical microscope or a scanning electron microscope.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the step of determining the structure modification data includes determining one or more components to be added or removed from the probe during the modification step.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of determining the one or more components to be added or removed includes determining the shape of the one or more components to be added or removed.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the step of determining the structure modification data includes determining damage on the probe, such as the position or shape of a broken part, or the position or shape of damage caused by wear or contamination.

12. The method further includes: Obtaining modified design data indicating one or more further modifications to the original probe structure design. wherein the step of determining the structure modification data includes using the modified design data in addition to the deviation to determine the structure modification data to include one or more further modifications. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

13. The precision material deposition process is an electron beam deposition process; or The precision material removal process is a focused ion beam process. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is at least one of them.

14. A system for refurbishing a used or damaged probe for use in a scanning probe microscope device, where the probe comprises a cantilever and a probe tip, the system comprising a probe capture unit for capturing the probe, an imaging unit for acquiring an image of the probe, and a controller cooperating with a memory or data storage, where the controller is configured to: determine an existing probe structure of the probe and map the existing probe structure to obtain existing probe structure data; identify a deviation from an original probe structure of the probe before the use or before the damage based on the existing probe structure data; and determine structure modification data indicating a structure modification for modifying the probe based on the deviation to enable the refurbishment of the probe and is configured to perform the steps of: where the system further comprises a precision material deposition unit configured to perform the structure modification, the controller is configured to cooperate with the precision material deposition unit or a precision material removal unit to modify the existing probe structure according to the structure modification data by the precision material deposition unit to perform the refurbishment of the probe. The system.

15. The system further comprises a precision material removal unit configured to perform the structure modification, where the controller is further configured to cooperate with the precision material removal unit to modify the existing probe structure according to the structure modification data by the precision material removal unit to perform the refurbishment of the probe. The system according to claim 14.

16. For identifying the deviation, the controller is configured to: obtain probe structure design data indicating an original probe structure design from the memory or data storage; and compare the existing probe structure data with the probe structure design data to perform the identifying The system according to claim 14.

17. The system according to claim 14, wherein the controller is configured to analyze the existing probe structure data to estimate a predicted original probe structure design and to compare the existing probe structure data with the predicted original probe structure design to perform the identification, for identifying the deviation.

18. To perform the analyzing, the controller extrapolates the probe tip edge to determine a predicted position of the apex of the probe tip in the predicted original probe structure design; applies a learned machine learning data processing model to perform the estimating; or compares the existing probe structure data with one or more different types of standard probe structure designs to determine similarity and estimates the predicted original probe structure design based on the similarity is configured to perform at least one of the system according to claim 17.

19. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the probe capture unit is configured to obtain a probe tip including the probe from a probe tip cassette.

20. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the imaging unit is at least one of an optical microscope or a scanning electron microscope.

21. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the precision material deposition unit is at least one of a group including an electron beam deposition unit and an ion beam deposition unit or a focused ion beam deposition unit.

22. The system according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the precision material removal unit is a focused ion beam unit.

23. A computer program product including instructions for causing the system according to any one of claims 14 to 18 to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

24. A computer-readable medium storing the computer program according to claim 23.

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