Scanned sample AFM

The typical scanned sample AFM scanning unit consists of the following parts a base, a scanner, and an optical head, in which a holder for the cantilever is mounted (Fig. 2.1). In addition, a probe tip/cantilever and sample, which will be mounted on a metallic sample puck, are required. Careful handling of the sensitive equipment (avoid shock, mechanical stress on the cables, temperatures above 40°C, high humidity for the scanner, etc.) is a prerequisite for this work. We recommend wearing... 

Fig. 2.1 Photographs of the essential components of a sample scanning AFM (a) scanner base, (b) cantilever holder, (c) optical head, and (d) scanner of a typical scanned sample AFM...

The optical system comprises a laser, which is reflected by a mirror mounted on the back of the cantilever to another mirror that sends the reflected beam to an array detector. The position of the beam translates in the position of the cantilever in the vertical direction, whereas the lateral position in xy coordinates is inferred from the movement of the xy table. Essentially, AFM uses a feedback system to measure and regulate the force applied on the scanned sample, which allows the acquisition of images using very low forces. 

Although the resolution of atomic force microscopy (AFM) is basically inferior to that of STM, the technique has the advantage that insulating materials can also be used as substrates. In AFM the forces acting between the tip and the sample surface are detected. The probe tip mounted on a flexible cantilever scans over the sample. AFM can be operated in contact mode, exploiting repulsive forces, as well as in non-contact mode, exploiting attractive forces. In the contact mode the probe tip is in direct contact with the sample surface (Fig. 7.8). Either the tip is passed over the sample surface at constant height (CHM,... 

SIAM Scanning interferometric apertureless microscopy [103b] Laser light is reflected off the substrate, and scattering between an AFM tip and sample is processed interferometrically Diffraction Surface structure... 

The most popular of the scanning probe tecimiques are STM and atomic force microscopy (AFM). STM and AFM provide images of the outemiost layer of a surface with atomic resolution. STM measures the spatial distribution of the surface electronic density by monitoring the tiumelling of electrons either from the sample to the tip or from the tip to the sample. This provides a map of the density of filled or empty electronic states, respectively. The variations in surface electron density are generally correlated with the atomic positions. 

The STM uses this eflFect to obtain a measurement of the surface by raster scanning over the sample in a manner similar to AFM while measuring the tunneling current. The probe tip is typically a few tenths of a nanometer from the sample. Individual atoms and atomic-scale surface structure can be measured in a field size that is usually less than 1 pm x 1 pm, but field sizes of 10 pm x 10 pm can also be imaged. STM can provide better resolution than AFM. Conductive samples are required, but insulators can be analyzed if coated with a conductive layer. No other sample preparation is required. 

Fig. 5.2. Principle of AFM. The sample symbolized by the circles is scanned by means of a piezoelectric translator. The piezo crystal and the oscillator is only needed for tapping mode operation.

Usually, in AFM the position of the tip is fixed and the sample is raster-scanned. After manual course approach with fine-thread screws, motion of the sample is performed with a piezo translator made of piezo ceramics like e. g. lead zirconate tita-nate (PZT), which can be either a piezo tripod or a single tube scanner. Single tube scanners are more difficult to calibrate, but they can be built more rigid and are thus less sensitive towards vibrational perturbations. 

In contrast to many other surface analytical techniques, like e. g. scanning electron microscopy, AFM does not require vacuum. Therefore, it can be operated under ambient conditions which enables direct observation of processes at solid-gas and solid-liquid interfaces. The latter can be accomplished by means of a liquid cell which is schematically shown in Fig. 5.6. The cell is formed by the sample at the bottom, a glass cover - holding the cantilever - at the top, and a silicone o-ring seal between. Studies with such a liquid cell can also be performed under potential control which opens up valuable opportunities for electrochemistry [5.11, 5.12]. Moreover, imaging under liquids opens up the possibility to protect sensitive surfaces by in-situ preparation and imaging under an inert fluid [5.13]. 

Perhaps the most significant complication in the interpretation of nanoscale adhesion and mechanical properties measurements is the fact that the contact sizes are below the optical limit ( 1 t,im). Macroscopic adhesion studies and mechanical property measurements often rely on optical observations of the contact, and many of the contact mechanics models are formulated around direct measurement of the contact area or radius as a function of experimentally controlled parameters, such as load or displacement. In studies of colloids, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been used to view particle/surface contact sizes from the side to measure contact radius [3]. However, such a configuration is not easily employed in AFM and nanoindentation studies, and undesirable surface interactions from charging or contamination may arise. For adhesion studies (e.g. Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) [4] and probe-tack tests [5,6]), the probe/sample contact area is monitored as a function of load or displacement. This allows evaluation of load/area or even stress/strain response [7] as well as comparison to and development of contact mechanics theories. Area measurements are also important in traditional indentation experiments, where hardness is determined by measuring the residual contact area of the deformation optically [8J. For micro- and nanoscale studies, the dimensions of both the contact and residual deformation (if any) are below the optical limit. 

Tamayo, J. and Garcia, R., Relationship between phase shift and energy dissipation in tapping-mode scanning force microscopy. Appl Phys. Lett., 73(20), 2926-2928 (1998). Gotsmann, B., Seidel, C., Anezykowski, B. and Fuchs, H., Conservative and dissipative tip-sample interaction forces probed with dynamic AFM. Phys. Rev. B Condens. Matter, 60, 11051-11061 (1999). 

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to characterize dendrimers that have been adsorbed onto a surface such as silica. AFM involves moving a finely tipped stylus across a surface and monitoring the tip movements as it traces the surface topography. In studying adsorbed dendrimers, samples can be scanned repeatedly and in a variety of directions. When this is done, it is found that all the images are the same. True dendrimers form objects of only one size. 

---