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SPM-full Lec PDF
SPM-full Lec PDF
When the tip of the STM probe is sufficiently close to the surface of
the specimen (~ 1nm) a tunneling current can become established
Schematic description
soft cantilever spring senses atomic C a n tile v e r
forces s a m p le + p ie z o tu b e
If the tunneling current is kept constant the Z position of the tip must Z c o n tro l
• Several forces typically contribute
to the deflection of an AFM
cantilever.
• The force most commonly
associated with atomic force
microscopy is an interatomic force
called the van der Waals force.
• The dependence of the van der
Waals force upon the distance
between the tip and the sample is
Alternatively if the Z position of the tip is kept constant the shown in figure below.
tunneling current will change as it moves across the surface. If the
changes in current are recorded the then the topography of the
specimen can be inferred.
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ATOMIC FORCE
MICROSCOPE Position recording!
ATOMIC FORCE
Position recording! MICROSCOPE
By using a four quadrant
detector the relative amount of
laser light hitting each quadrant
can be used to determine how
the tip has been deflected as it
moves over the surface of the
specimen
Similar to a phonograph needle the probe is actually in
contact with the specimen and is physically moved up and
down due to the repulsion of van der Waals forces
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Topography (modes) Parts of a Scanning Probe Microscope
• sharp tip probing near‐field interactions
• Contact Mode Tapping Mode (tunneling current, chemical binding forces, optical near‐field)
• High resolution ▫ Better resolution • scanner
• Damage to sample ▫ Minimal damage to (positioning actuator) with atomic precision usually piezoelectric)
• Can measure frictional forces sample • coarse approach
• Non‐Contact Mode (micrometer screws, optical microscope)
• Lower resolution • vibration damping
• No damage to sample (rubber stacks, air‐damped tables)
• control electronics
(pre‐amplifier, distance controller, high‐voltage amplifier)
• Data recording
(computer, software)
Scanning
Scanning Probe Microscopy
There are two types of Scanning Probe Microscopies
Tip
Cantilever
Substrate
The ability to precisely position the probe of an STM is made
possible by an XYZ Piezo-Scanner which coupled to a Probes
feedback regulator keeps track of the tunneling current and
precisely positions the tip accordingly.
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AFM Tip Vibration damping
One of the most important factors influencing there solution which may be
achieved with an AFM is the sharpness of the scanning tip. best tips may have
a radius of curvature of only around 5nm.
Figure 4. Three common types of AFM tip. (a) normal tip (3 µm tall); (b)
supertip; (c) Ultralever (also 3 µm tall). Electron micrographs by Jean-
Paul Revel, Caltech. Tips from Park Scientific Instruments; supertip
made by Jean-Paul Revel.
Coarse movement & Microscope
AFM Artifacts
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Sources of artifacts
Tip broadening arises when the radius of curvature of the tip is comparable with, or greater than, the
size of the feature to be imaged.
Image Processing
Probe
Scanner
Vibrations
• Size • Hysteresis • Floor • Imaging
• Sharpness • Geometry • Acoustic • The diagram illustrates this problem; as
• … • Position the tip scans over the specimen, the sides
of the tip make contact before the apex,
• Large and the microscope begins to respond to
• Small the feature. This is what we may call tip
convolution.
• Strange
• Repeating
Features on a Surface Appear Too Large
Tip Artifacts
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Features in an Image Appear Too Small Repeating Strange Patterns in an Image
• If the features on a surface are much smaller than the probe, it is possible to see large numbers of repeating
patterns in an image.
Strangely Shaped Objects Probe / Sample Angle
• If the features that are being imaged by the AFM are much larger in
profile than the probe, and the image does not seem “correct”, the
artifact may be caused by a non‐perpendicular probe surface angle.
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X‐Y Calibration / Linearity Background Bow / Tilt
Z Calibration / Linearity Background Bow / Tilt
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Z Edge Overshoot X‐Y Angle Measurements
• If the motion generated by the X‐Y scanner is not orthogonal, then
there can be errors in the horizontal measurements in an image. This
error, or artifact, can best be seen when imaging a test pattern with
squares.
Z Angle Measurements
Scanner Drift
• Drift in AFM images can occur because of “creep” in the piezoelectric
scanner and because an AFM can be susceptible to external
temperature changes.
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Image Processing Image Looks Too Good
• As a rule of thumb, if the image has no noise in
• Leveling it, then the data has probably been
• Low Pass Filter compromised.
• Matrix Filter / Smoothing Because AFM data is
• Fourier Filtering completely electronic, it is
• Image Looks Too Good possible to take an image and
alter it with image
enhancement techniques to
create a beautiful picture that
does not represent the
structure of the surface
Leveling
• There are a number of background subtraction
options that are possible. The two most Vibrations
common types are:
• Line by line leveling ‐ 0 to 4(th) order • Floor Vibrations
• Plane Leveling ‐ 0 to 4(th) order
• Acoustic Vibrations
• Surface Contamination
• Electronics
• Vacuum Leaks
• PID Settings / Scan Rate
• Laser Interference Patterns
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Floor Vibrations
• The floor vibrations, if not properly filtered,
Surface Contamination
can cause periodic structure in an image.
• elevator in motion • Substantial contamination at the surface of a sample such as a
• a train going by fingerprint or oil film can cause AFM image artifacts.
• or even people walking in a hallway
Sound waves can cause artifacts in AFM images.
airplane going over a building
or from the tones in a person’s voice
Acoustic Vibrations Applications
• The primary uses for the AFM are:
• Below is an image that shows the noise derived from a person talking
• Visualization: The AFM measures three
in the same room as the microscope. dimensional images of surfaces and is very helpful
for visualizing surface topography.
• Spatial Metrology : Nanometer sized dimensions of
surface features are measurable with the AFM.
• Physical Property Maps: With many of the modes
(see Chapter 4) it is possible to measure surface
physical property maps. These techniques are, for
the most part, qualitative.
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Physical Science Nanoindentation
• Polymer Composites
• Phase Transitions metal-foil
• Surface Texture
• Defects
• Crack / Scratch Propagation diamond tip
• Coatings
• Nanoparticles • Using a diamond tip to indent a surface and immediately
• Carbon Nanotubes image the indentation. Using indentation cantilevers, it is
possible to indent various samples with the same force in
• Crystal Structure order to compare hardness properties.
• Semiconductor
• Data Storage
• Advanced Optical
A recent development uses an AFM to “write” with biomolecules
such as DNA sequences. This will allow for the creation of micro
DNA chips which can be used a wide variety of applications
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Nanomanipulation
Iron corrals on Cu
Nanomanipulation
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Thank You