AFM

Atomic Force Microscopy

 Outline
• How the AFM works
– Two modes
– Contact Mode
– Non-Contact Mode
– Force Measurements
– Raster the Tip: Generating an Image
– Scanning Sample
• OUr AFM
– Pictures
• Examples
– The Good
– The Bad
– And the Ugly
• Uses
– Topographical Analysis
– Thin Layer Depth
– RMS Roughness Calculations
• Other types of Microscopy
 History
• The Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) was
invented by G. Binnig and H. Rohrer, for which
they were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1984
• A few years later, the first Atomic Force
Microscope (AFM) was developed by G. Binnig,
Ch. Gerber, and C. Quate at Stanford University
by gluing a tiny shard of diamond onto one end
of a tiny strip of gold foil
• Currently AFM is the most common form of
scanning probe microscopy
 Motivation
• Digitally image a topographical surface
• Determine the roughness of a surface sample or
to measure the thickness of a crystal growth
layer
• Image non-conducting surfaces such as proteins
and DNA
• Study the dynamic behavior of living and fixed
cells
 How the AFM Works

• The AFM brings a probe

in close proximity to the
surface
• The force is detected by
the deflection of a spring,
van der Waals force curve
usually a cantilever
(diving board)
• Forces between the
probe tip and the sample
are sensed to control the
distance between the the
tip and the sample.
 Two Modes
Repulsive (contact)
• At short probe-sample
distances, the forces are
repulsive
Attractive Force (non-
contact)
• At large probe-sample
distances, the forces are
attractive
The AFM cantelever can be
used to measure both
attractive force mode and
repulsive forces.
 Non-Contact Mode
• Uses attractive forces to
interact surface with tip
• Operates within the
van der Waal radii of the
atoms
• Oscillates cantilever near
its resonant frequency
(~ 200 kHz) to improve
sensitivity
• Advantages over contact:
no lateral forces,
non-destructive/no
contamination to sample,
etc.
van der Waals force curve
 Contact Mode
• Contact mode operates
in the repulsive regime of
the van der Waals curve
• Tip attached to cantilever
with low spring constant
(lower than effective
spring constant binding
the atoms of the sample
together).
• In ambient conditions
there is also a capillary
force exerted by the thin
water layer present
(2-50 nm thick). van der Waals force curve
Force Measurement
• The cantilever is designed
with a very low spring
constant (easy to bend) so it
is very sensitive to force.

• The laser is focused to reflect

off the cantilever and onto the
sensor

• The position of the beam in

the sensor measures the
deflection of the cantilever
and in turn the force between
the tip and the sample.
 Raster the Tip: Generating an Image
• The tip passes back and forth
in a straight line across the
sample (think old typewriter or
CRT)
Scanning Tip

• In the typical imaging mode,

the tip-sample force is held
constant by adjusting the
vertical position of the tip
(feedback).
• A topographic image is built up
Raster Motion

by the computer by recording

the vertical position as the tip
is rastered across the sample.

Top Image Courtesy of Nanodevices, Inc. (www.nanodevices.com)

Bottom Image Courtesy of Stefanie Roes
(www.fz-borstel.de/biophysik/ de/methods/afm.html)
 Scanning the Sample
• Tip brought within nanometers
of the sample (van der Waals)
 Radius of tip limits the
accuracy of analysis/ resolution
 Stiffer cantilevers protect
against sample damage
because they deflect less in
response to a small force
 This means a more
sensitive detection
scheme is needed
 measure change in
resonance frequency and
amplitude of oscillation

Image courtesy of (www.pacificnanotech.com)

 AFM Instrument
Commercial Topometrix Explorer
AFM.
 Some of AFM Pictures
2D topographical image of
Atomic Step 3D Image

Screw dislocations on InSb grown by MBE

 The Good Examples

Carbon Nanotube Used as a Conducting

AFM Tip for Local Oxidation of Si.
View of Silicon Surface Reconstruction

Right Image Courtesy of Dai, et al. from Stanford

 The Bad Examples
Histogram shows level surface, but Typically the sample will have a slight tilt
scan is very streaky with respect to the AFM. The AFM can
compensate for this tilt.

The horizontal lines are due to tip hops –

where the tip picks up or loses a small In this image the tilt have not yet
“nanodust” been removed.
 And the Ugly!

Teeny little dust mites, ultra tiny dust mites about 2,000 in the
average bed

Image courtesy of http://www.micropix.demon.co.uk/sem/dustmite/article/page_2.htm

 Topography Scanning
Example of generated
image upon scanning
Pd thermally evaporated on Si
 Elimination of Extreme Points

This targets the highest points of the

sample and eliminates them
It then manipulates the image to
create a smaller dynamic depth

Centering on pt.

extreme
(Height)
 A Better View
Now:
• Removed extreme
points
• Digitally
decreased the
height of analysis
• Less than 1/3 as
high as
initial scan
•Lose resolution
and data by clipping
off extreme points
 Thickness of a Thin Layer
of Pd on Si Wafer

Si/Pd step

Step (where Pd coating ends)

Systematic error
 Surface Roughness

Roughness typically measured

as root mean squared (RMS)
 Other Types of SPM Techniques
• Lateral Force Microscopy (LFM)
– Frictional forces measured by twisting or “sideways” forces on
cantilever.
• Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM)
– Magnetic tip detects magnetic fields/measures magnetic properties
of the sample.
• Electrostatic Force Microscopy (EFM)
– Electrically charged Pt tip detects electric fields/measures
dielectric and electrostatic properties of the sample
• Chemical Force Microscopy (CFM)
– Chemically functionalized tip can interact with molecules on the
surface – giving info on bond strengths, etc.
• Near Field Scanning Optical Microscopy (NSOM)
– Optical technique in which a very small aperture is scanned very
close to sample
– Probe is a quartz fiber pulled to a sharp point and coated with
aluminum to give a sub-wavelength aperture (~100 nm)
 Carbon Nanotube Tips
 Well defined shape and composition.
 High aspect ratio and small radius of curvature (“perfect” tip would be a delta
function tip).
 Mechanically robust.
 Chemical functionalization at tip.
DNA
CNT Tips

Images taken from Nanodevices, Inc. (www.nanodevices.com)

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson and Wooley, et al., Nature Biotech. 18, 760
 SPM Lithography
 STM can move atoms around on a surface.

Iron on Copper Iron on Copper

Eigler, et al. from IBM

 SPM Lithography
 Dip Pen Lithography.

Mirkin, et al. from Northwestern University

 SPM Lithography
 Electrochemistry: carbon nanotube used as a conducting AFM tip for local
oxidation of Si.

Dai, et al. from Stanford

Million Cantilever Wafer
Millipede Memory
Millipede Memory
Cantilever Gas Sensors (Noses)