To provide a microdamper which can generate the damping force even under vacuum and also can control this damping force by exercising the damping force via a conductive member prepared to the member that is placed opposite to a magnetic field generation means.

A thin film coil 105 is formed on a base 104 and connected to an electrode 110 via a magnetic field generation signal line 108. A cantilever 102 is placed on the base 104 via a support member 103, and a tip 101 using a conductive material is added to a free end of the cantilever 102 together with a conductive plate 106 formed at a position opposite to the coil 105. The tip 101 is connected to an electrode 109 via a current detection signal line. In such a constitution of a probe used for an SFM/STM composite observation device, the damping force is exercised even under vacuum when a current is supplied to the coil 105 from the electrode 110. Then the damping degree can be controlled via the control of the current that is supplied to the coil 105.