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Nanotechnology researchers often need an AFM for doing routine scanning of samples with nanostructures on their surface. The TT-AFM is ideal for these types of applications. The instrument has an intuitive, yet powerful user interface that makes it useful for researchers that aren't AFM experts. Further the TT-AFM includes the most common scan modes: contact, vibrating, LFM, and Phase.
The TT-AFM is ideal for labs that have more expensive AFM's that are dedicated to specialized experiments. This is especially true for scanning routine and repetitive scanning of samples that are not particularly challenging. Students and researchers can prepare themselves for operating higher end microscopes by learning to operate the TT-AFM.
A few of the common types of samples that are measureable with the TT-AFM are:
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| NanoStructures |
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At the left is a 500 nm X 500 nm image of a sample of 1 nm and 3 nm nanoparticles. At the right is a 100 nm X 100 nm image of the same nanoparticles. Note that the surface texture of the substrate is clearly visible in the image on the right.
With an ultimate noise floor of 0.1 nm the TT-AFM is capable of visualizing nanostructures on surfaces. This 3 X 13 micron image of contamination nanoparticles was measured with vibrating mode. The line profile at the right shows two nanoparticles that 2.3 nm high. With the TT-AFM it may be necessary to use a vibration isolation table and/or chamber to achieve the highest resolution images. |
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| Patterned Wafers |
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Patterned wafers are readily imaged with the TT-AFM. At the left is test pattern with 5 micron lines on it. Because the TT-AFM has x and y scan linearizers, it is possible zoom to a smaller region with the intuitive software GUI. At the right is a feature on the top of one of the test pattern lines. Small defects at the sites of the lines are also visualized. This image was measured with a silicon cantilever in vibrating AFM mode. |
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| Materials |
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| On the left is a 2X2 micron image of BOPP polymer fibers and at the right is a 500 X 500 nm phase image of PMMA.
Phase mode is a standard feature in a TT-AFM.
All types of Materials surfaces are readily scanned with the TT-AFM. The image of a polymer was scanned with vibrating mode, and the image at the left of a metal surface was scanned with contact mode. Post processing of the images with Gwyddion software allows optimization of the images for visualization as well as measuring grain sizes, line profiles and surface textures. Images such as these are typically measured at 1 Hz or less.
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| Life Sciences |
These two images illustrate the power of the TT-AFM for live sciences scanning. At the right is an image of E.coli bacteria. The scan range is just over 11 microns and the individual bacteria in the large cluster are clearly visualized. At the leftt is an image of bacterial spore mutants. The z range of the piezo scanner in the TT-AFM has a dynamic range of 17 microns, so specimens with large features are easily scanned. These images were measured in vibrating mode.
Both of these images were measured by Dr. Peter Eaton. The mutant spore sample was provide by Dr. Ralf Moeller, German.
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