With the continuous advancement of scientific instrument development technology, China is now able to independently develop and produce piezoelectric nanoprobes.
The piezoelectric nanoprobe platform is designed to measure nanoscale physical properties and perform nanoscale motion operations. It can achieve precise positioning in three-dimensional space and is mainly used in analytical instruments such as scanning electron microscopes and transmission electron microscopes.
In a microscope, the main function of the probe is to interact with the sample to obtain the surface morphology and internal structure of the latter. For example, atomic force microscopy (AFM) uses probes to observe the morphology of materials in a three-dimensional manner, breaking through the limitations of optical and electron microscopes, and achieving resolution at the atomic level; The probe of scattering near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM) plays a role in excitation, detection, and enhancement, which can break through the optical diffraction limit and achieve terahertz nanooptical imaging. In order to meet the demand for precise positioning, probe stations applied in microscopes have been developed.
The piezoelectric nanoprobe platform mainly consists of a piezoelectric motor, sensor, driver, controller, probe, etc. According to the "2024-2029 China Piezoelectric Nanoprobe Station Industry Market Deep Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report" released by the Xin Sijie Industry Research Center, piezoelectric nanoprobe stations have the characteristics of high motion resolution, high positioning accuracy, large motion range, wide working temperature range, good flexibility, small size, low energy consumption, high stability, can be used in vacuum environments, and simple operation. They can be widely used in materials science, life science, and other fields to achieve high-precision scientific experiments.
In the past decade, except for a few years, the global electron microscope market has shown an overall upward trend. In 2023, the global market size of scanning electron microscopy reached 3.66 billion US dollars; The global transmission electron microscope market size is approximately 360 million US dollars. Beneficial for the development of the piezoelectric nanoprobe platform industry.
With the continuous advancement of scientific instrument development technology, China is now able to independently develop and produce piezoelectric nanoprobes. But with the development of high-end analytical instruments such as microscopes and the continuous expansion of application scenarios, the market's requirements for the comprehensive performance and environmental adaptability of piezoelectric nanoprobes are constantly improving. The piezoelectric nanoprobe platform is an important component of analytical instruments, and the Chinese government pays high attention to the development of industry technology.
Industry analysts from Xinsijie stated that in March 2023, the Ministry of Science and Technology released a key special project for the "Basic Research Conditions and Major Scientific Instrument and Equipment Development" of the 2023 National Key R&D Plan, proposing the development of piezoelectric nanoprobes, probe motion control systems, and human-machine interaction systems for extreme environments, to achieve applications in instruments such as transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and other analyzers. Promote the continuous increase of research and development investment in the field of piezoelectric nanoprobes in China.
In December 2023, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced the approval of the key special project of the National Key Research and Development Plan for 2023, "Basic Research Conditions and Major Scientific Instrument and Equipment Research and Development". Among them, the "Piezoelectric Nanoprobe Platform in Extreme Environments" project led by Harbin Xinming Technology Co., Ltd. was approved. This will further enhance the independent research and development capabilities of China's piezoelectric nanoprobes.
