AFM

  • Last modification date Updated On October 19, 2023

The Surface Analysis center houses two Atomic Force Microscopes:

Both internal and external users can either submit samples for analysis (full service) or be trained to use the AFM as an independent user.

AFM obtains high-resolution images and various material properties at the nanoscale for polymers, thin films, devices, advanced materials and biological samples amongst others, Z resolution is on the tens of picometer scale.

More details about each of our instruments and their capabilities can be found below.

Cypher ES™ Environmental AFM

This is the most state of art AFM in SAC. The instrument can provide controlled gas/liquid/humidity environment. It’s also capable of heating (250 ℃), cooling-heating (0~120℃) and high voltage (+/- 220V).

Sample size requirement

Sample size: 

X,Y: Must fit within a 15mm diameter disk

Z: 8mm thickness maximum

Sample surface roughness: 

3 μm maximum (bottom of valley to top of mountain)

Instrumental details:

Max scan size: X,Y 30 μm

Environmental options:

  • Liquid- regular
  • Liquid- perfusion
  • Humidity controlled
  • Heating (Room temperature to 250℃)
  • Cooling-heating (0~120℃)

Imaging mode:

  • Contact topography (Lateral Force Mode)
  • Tapping Mode with Q-control
  • BlueDrive™ – High speed imaging 10x-20x faster
  • Force Modulation
  • Frequency Modulation
  • Phase imaging
  • Force Curve Mode
  • Fast Force Mapping (Force volume)
  • Bimodal Dual AC™
  • Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM)
  • Electrostatic Force Microscopy (EFM)
  • Scanning Kelvin Probe Microscopy (SKPM)
  • MicroAngelo™ (Nanolithography and nanomanipulation)
  • Electrochemical AFM (EC-AFM)
  • AM-FM Viscoelastic Mapping Mode
  • AM-FM/Loss Tangent
  • Conductive AFM
  • Dual gain ORCA™
  • Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) 

MFP-3D Origin™ AFM

This instrument is suitable for much larger samples. It also has a variety of scanning modes.

Sample submission size requirement

Sample size: 

X,Y: 80mm x80mm maximum

Z: 8mm thickness maximum

Sample surface roughness:

6 μm maximum (bottom of valley to top of mountain)

Instrumental details:

Max scan size: X,Y 90μm

Imaging mode:

  • Contact topography (Lateral Force Mode)
  • Tapping Mode with Q-control
  • Force Modulation
  • Frequency Modulation
  • Phase Imaging
  • Force Curve Mode
  • Force Mapping (Force Volume)
  • Bimodal Dual AC™
  • Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM)
  • Electrostatic Force Microscopy (EFM)
  • MicroAngelo™ (Nanolithography and nanomanipulation)

Relevant pages

Manuals

Schedule Training

Full Service Sample Submission