hpAFM
hpAFM is an advanced atomic force microscope that brings a new level of performance, functionality, design and capability. It’s designed to minimize the time to get best results. Whether you can work in liquid or in air conditions, it is for everyone from material science to life science. hpAFM offers excellent features such as alignment-free design, closed loop flexure scanner, decoupled z scanner, 10 MP video microscope and flexible operating modes.Alignment-free design
general problem of cantilever mounting in the AFM is the re-positioning of the laser and photodiode after cantilever exchange. The laser must be re-aligned to the cantilever and eventually the sample must be re-located. hpAFM offers alignment-free system to overcome this problem. each cantilever mounted to the hpAFM, whether in air or liquid, will automatically and precisely be aligned to continue experiments without laser and photodiode re-alignments. All cantilevers are equipped with alignment grooves or suitable for alignment-series will be exactly aligned when mounted.All major cantilever manufacturers has these type of cantilevers for different modes.
Closed loop flexure scanner
hpAFM’s flexure-based XY scanner uses optical sensor is used to monitor the position of the stage in real time. These readings feed back to the controller to provide error correction for the scan. Closed-loop control ensures that the piezo scanner reaches the desired commanded position. Closed-loop control provides fast, accurate positioning with minimal piezo drift which is very essential for AFM scanning.Decoupled z scanner
One of the most commonly used AFM scanner configurations is the tube scanner because of its easy fabrication. However, it has some disadvantages: due to their geometry, tube scanners have non-linearity, spesifically bowing, when using the full range of the scanner. In hpAFM with decoupled xy- and z-scanners the xy-scanner is placed under the sample while the z-scanner is placed in the head in order to reduce the cross-talk between the scanners.Optical Microscope
hpAFM has very good optical microscope which has 700 nm optical resolution with software-controlled, motorised 5X optical zoom and focus. 8 Mp digital camera gives an opportunity to see the sample from top and let user to go a spesific area on sample surface with same quality either in air or liquid.Operating Modes
- The microscope can be operated in the following modes:
- Contact Mode AFM
- Lateral Force Microscope (LFM)
- Dynamic Mode AFM & Phase Imaging
- Non-contact Mode AFM with digital PLL
- Liquid AFM
- Magnetic Force Microscope (MFM)
- Electrostatic Force Microscope (EFM)
- Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM)
- Piezo Response Force Microscopy (PRFM)
- Conductive AFM (CAFM) / Scanning Spreading Resistance Microscopy (SSRM)
- AFM Lithography ( Oxidation & Scratching )
- Force Modulation Mode
- Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM)
- Nano Mechanical Imaging (NMI)
- Nanoindentation
hpAFM SPECIFICATIONS
Standard Scan Modes 1 Intermittent Contact/ Phase Contrast, Contact, Lateral Force, MFM, EFM
Optional Scan Modes Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), Piezo Response Force Microscope (PrFM), Kelvin Probe Force Microscope (KPFM), Scanning Spreading Resistance Microscope (SSRM), Conductive AFM, Capacitance Force Microscopy(CFM), Force Modulation microscopy(FMM), AFM Spectroscopies, Nanoindentation, Lithography, Manipulation
Scan Range 10x10x12 µm or 100x100x12 µm
XY and Z flexure stage scanners XY Resonance 730Hz @ 500gram
Z Resonance 22kHz @ 400gram
Drive resolution <0.006 nm in XY
<0.0006 pm in Z
Controller
- High Performance Xilinx FPGA based System, digital feedback, 32bit Microblaze-CPU, 90 MHz, 1 GB RAM
- Multitasking OS
- USB 2.0 High Speed 480 Mbps connection speed
- 16Bit/100MHz Dual ADC for main fast signal acquisiton
- 16Bit 100MHz Quad DAC for Cantilever Excitation
- 24 bit XYZ Scan DACs, 500kHz
- 24 bit XYZ Sensor ADCs, 200kHz
- 24 bit Z- DAC resolution, 500kHz
- 24 bit 200 kHz, 16 channel ADC
- +/-10 V, 24 bit bias voltage output
- Less than 0.030 nm RMS noise in Z
- Digital PLL and Lockin Amplifiers
- Cantilever Stiffness calibration 0-5MHz, 1-100Hz BW
- Access to major signals on BNC connectors through front panel
Static/Dynamic RMS Cantilever Z noise <25fm√Hz noise floor with laser RF modulation
Maximum sample size/height 100x100x20 mm
Approach Software controlled, motorized , <50 mm range with <250 nm sensitivity
Camera 10 MP top view color camera, 2 MP side view color camera (1920×1080 pixel), video output USB 2.0
Light Source for Optical Microscope White LED, adjustable from software
24 Bit zoom-in 8 acqusion channels @ 8000×8000 pixels
Dimensions (AFM Head, Controller) 90x73mm (ODxH), 255x255x43mm(LxWxH)
Power Requirements 100-240 Vac, 50/60 Hz, 50 VA
PC Requirements (Minimum) Windows XP/VISTA/Windows 7 (32/64bit), Core 2 CPUs, 4GB RAM, 2 Free PCI Slots
Cantilevers Nanosensors PointProbe® Plus XY-Alignment Series
Acoustic and Vibration isolation Multilayered Acoustic Enclosure with 1800 Access
0.3Hz passive vibration isolation table or active vibration isolation table
hpAFM LATERAL RESOLUTION
100µmx100µm scanner10µmx10µm scanner
Intermittent Contact Mode Typical Resolution2 <1nm <0.05nm
Contact Mode Typical Resolution3 <1nm <0.05nm
Lateral Force Model Typical Resolution4 <1nm <0.05nm
MFM Mode Typical Resolution5 <14nm <14nm
User Kit & Carrying case Premounted samples,tweezers,10 off blank sample holders, glue etc.
Available Options
Heating and Cooling Standard range between -30 and +100 C° with 0.1 resolution
XY Manual Stage 25x25mm with 10µm resolution
XY Motorized Software controlled, 50 mm moving, 50nm resolution
Liquid cell Closed or open
Super Luminescent Diode Alternative to RF modulated laser
Notes:
1 Any Single Mode Standard, Additional Modes May Be Added As Options
2 NANOSENSORSTM, PPP-NCLR
3 NANOSENSORSTM, PPP-CONTR
4 NANOSENSORSTM, PPP-LFMR
5 NANOSENSORSTM, PPP-MFMR
Specifications are subject to change without any notification
Optional Accessories
Sample Heater & Cooler: hpAFM enables to change sample temperature from -10 C to 350 C with water cooling & peltier seramics. The system includes a coolant pump to work below room temperatures. Samples up to 15 mm diameter can be placed with temperature controller. It is compatible with all AFM modes and ensures precise temperature( 0.1 C) with PID controls. The design of the sample heater&cooler minimizes the temperature gradient between the stage and the scanner, so that thermal drift is minimized.
Magnetic Field Generator: For some magnetic force microscopy experiments user needs to apply an external magnetic field to the sample. hpAFM magnetic field generator has a capability of applying the external magnetic field up to ±0.5 Т in-plane and ±0.12 Т out-of-plane (vertical field). It consists of exciting coil with magnetic wires.
Enviromental Chamber: Enviromental chamber of the hpAFM gives the opportunity to change the atmospheric condition of sample measurement and allows you to precisely regulate gas content, humidity and temperature within the chamber. Humidity, pressure and temperature can be observed from the software
Electrochemistry Cell: hpAFM’s electrochemistry cell ( EC Cell) enables characterisation of electrochemical process with potentiostat. Fully sealed EC Cell is made from PEEK material and makes it possible to work with most common electrolytes and electrodes.
What is the lock-out specs for hpAFM?
Alignment-free design
Optical microscope with 700 nm optical resolution
Decopled Z scanner to prevent cross-coupling
Flexure XY scanner with closed loop sensors
What is the max scan area with hpAFM?
100x100x12 um
Is there any small area scanner for higher resoltion?
Yes, it has 10x10x12 um max scan area
What is the advantage of XY flexure scanner?
Different piezo scanner for X and Y directions allow more linearity
Scans faster than piezo tubes
Can carry samples up to 500 g
Not fragile like piezo tubes
No bowing effect
Minimum thermal drifts
What is closed loop scanner?
XY scanner uses optical sensor to monitor the position of the stage in real time. Closed-loop control ensures that the piezo scanner reaches the desired commanded position. Closed-loop control provides fast, accurate positioning with minimal piezo drift which is very essential for AFM.
Why is decoupled Z scanner important?
the xy-scanner is placed under the sample while the z-scanner is placed in the head in order to reduce the cross-talk between the scanners.
What is the features of optical microscope?
700 nm optical resolution
5X optical zoom
Software controlled, motorised focus & zoom
Adjustable white LED
8 Mp digital camera
550×410 um fiel of view (FOV)
Is there any vibration isolation table comes with hpAFM?
Standart system comes with passive vibration isolation table
Vertical natural frequency of 1/2 Hz or less can be achieved over the entire load range.
Horizontal natural frequency is load dependent. 1/2 Hz or less can be achieved at or near the nominal load.
Active vibration isolation table is optional
What is the vertical and horizontal resolution of the hpAFM?
Vertical: Atomic resolution
Horizontal: 5 nm with standat cantilevers, 2 nm with super sharp cantilevers
Can all types of cantilever be used with hpAFM?
No. They have to have alignment grooves at the backside of the chip
Even there are alignment grooves tip lenght should be 225 um or XY alignment series
How sample position can be changed?
there is a motorised XY stage that moves 76 mm ( ±38 mm) with 50 nm resolution
Is hpAFM tip scanning or sample scanning?
Sample scanning in XY direction, tip scanning in Z direction
Is it possible to monitor the signals with oscilloscops?
Yes, there are BNC outputs at the back side of AFM controller
Is there any software for post-processing?
hpAFM comes with 2 different softares; one to control the microscope, one for post-processing. Both will be updated free for lifetime.
Can images be opened with different softwares?
Yes, images can be converted to other file fomats.