US Patent 7707647 - Metal nanoparticle spectroscopic probe

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7707647.html

This patent from Canon teaches a new type of scanning probe structure using metallic nanoparticles formed on a cantilever tip. Claim 1 reads:

1. A probe for use in surface enhanced vibrational spectroscopic analysis, the probe being formed on a cantilever, the probe comprising a plurality of metal fine particles dispersed therein, the plurality of the metal fine particles being exposed on a surface of the probe.