DMCMN: Experimental/Analytical Evaluation of the Effect of Tip Mass on Atomic Force Microscope Cantilever Calibration

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Allen ◽  
Hartono Sumali ◽  
Peter C. Penegor
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Force Microscope ◽  
Fundamental Mode ◽  
Spring Constant ◽  
Mode Shapes ◽  
Contact Mode ◽  
Modified Method ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Afm Cantilever ◽  
Cantilever Probes ◽  
Tip Mass

Quantitative studies of material properties and interfaces using the atomic force microscope (AFM) have important applications in engineering, biotechnology, and chemistry. Contrary to what the name suggests, the AFM actually measures the displacement of a microscale probe, so one must determine the stiffness of the probe to find the force exerted on a sample. Numerous methods have been proposed for determining the spring constant of AFM cantilever probes, yet most neglect the mass of the probe tip. This work explores the effect of the tip mass on AFM calibration using the method of Sader (1995, “Method for the Calibration of Atomic Force Microscope Cantilevers,” Rev. Sci. Instrum., 66, pp. 3789) and extends that method to account for a massive, rigid tip. One can use this modified method to estimate the spring constant of a cantilever from the measured natural frequency and Q-factor for any mode of the probe. This may be helpful when the fundamental mode is difficult to measure or to check for inaccuracies in the calibration obtained with the fundamental mode. The error analysis presented here shows that if the tip is not considered, then the error in the static stiffness is roughly of the same order as the ratio of the tip’s mass to the cantilever beam’s. The area density of the AFM probe is also misestimated if the tip mass is not accounted for, although the trends are different. The model presented here can be used to identify the mass of a probe tip from measurements of the natural frequencies of the probe. These concepts are applied to six low spring-constant, contact-mode AFM cantilevers, and the results suggest that some of the probes are well modeled by an Euler–Bernoulli beam with a constant cross section and a rigid tip, while others are not. One probe is examined in detail, using scanning electron microscopy to quantify the size of the tip and the thickness uniformity of the probe, and laser Doppler vibrometry is used to measure the first four mode shapes. The results suggest that this probe’s thickness is significantly nonuniform, so the models upon which dynamic calibration is based may not be appropriate for this probe.

scholarly journals Redesigned Sensor Holder for an Atomic Force Microscope with an Adjustable Probe Direction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janik Schaude ◽  
Maxim Fimushkin ◽  
Tino Hausotte
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Force Microscope ◽  
Piezoelectric Actuator ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Coefficient Of Thermal Expansion ◽  
Measuring System ◽  
Contact Mode ◽  
Loop Control ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Measuring Machine

AbstractThe article presents a redesigned sensor holder for an atomic force microscope (AFM) with an adjustable probe direction, which is integrated into a nano measuring machine (NMM-1). The AFM, consisting of a commercial piezoresistive cantilever operated in closed-loop intermitted contact-mode, is based on two rotational axes, which enable the adjustment of the probe direction to cover a complete hemisphere. The axes greatly enlarge the metrology frame of the measuring system by materials with a comparatively high coefficient of thermal expansion. The AFM is therefore operated within a thermostating housing with a long-term temperature stability of 17 mK. The sensor holder, connecting the rotational axes and the cantilever, inserted one adhesive bond, a soldered connection and a geometrically undefined clamping into the metrology circle, which might also be a source of measurement error. It has therefore been redesigned to a clamped senor holder, which is presented, evaluated and compared to the previous glued sensor holder within this paper. As will be shown, there are no significant differences between the two sensor holders. This leads to the conclusion, that the three aforementioned connections do not deteriorate the measurement precision, significantly. As only a minor portion of the positioning range of the piezoelectric actuator is needed to stimulate the cantilever near its resonance frequency, a high-speed closed-loop control that keeps the cantilever within its operating range using this piezoelectric actuator further on as actuator was implemented and is presented within this article.

scholarly journals Design and Fabrication of a High-Speed Atomic Force Microscope Scan-Head

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 362
Author(s):  
Luke Oduor Otieno ◽  
Bernard Ouma Alunda ◽  
Jaehyun Kim ◽  
Yong Joong Lee
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Force Microscope ◽  
Natural Frequency ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Contact Mode ◽  
Ongoing Process ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Constant Height ◽  
Mode Tracking

A high-speed atomic force microscope (HS-AFM) requires a specialized set of hardware and software and therefore improving video-rate HS-AFMs for general applications is an ongoing process. To improve the imaging rate of an AFM, all components have to be carefully redesigned since the slowest component determines the overall bandwidth of the instrument. In this work, we present a design of a compact HS-AFM scan-head featuring minimal loading on the Z-scanner. Using a custom-programmed controller and a high-speed lateral scanner, we demonstrate its working by obtaining topographic images of Blu-ray disk data tracks in contact- and tapping-modes. Images acquired using a contact-mode cantilever with a natural frequency of 60 kHz in constant deflection mode show good tracking of topography at 400 Hz. In constant height mode, tracking of topography is demonstrated at rates up to 1.9 kHz for the scan size of 1μm×1μm with 100×100 pixels.

Method to determine the spring constant of atomic force microscope cantilevers

2004 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 565-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Gibson ◽  
Daniel J. Johnson ◽  
Christopher Anderson ◽  
Chris Abell ◽  
Trevor Rayment
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Force Microscope ◽  
Spring Constant ◽  
Atomic Force

scholarly journals Characterisation of the Material and Mechanical Properties of Atomic Force Microscope Cantilevers with a Plan-View Trapezoidal Geometry

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (13) ◽  
pp. 2604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley D. Slattery ◽  
Adam J. Blanch ◽  
Cameron J. Shearer ◽  
Andrew J. Stapleton ◽  
Renee V. Goreham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Atomic Force Microscope ◽  
Young’S Modulus ◽  
Correction Factor ◽  
Young's Modulus ◽  
Spring Constant ◽  
Beam Equation ◽  
Euler Beam ◽  
Plan View ◽  
Atomic Force

Cantilever devices have found applications in numerous scientific fields and instruments, including the atomic force microscope (AFM), and as sensors to detect a wide range of chemical and biological species. The mechanical properties, in particular, the spring constant of these devices is crucial when quantifying adhesive forces, material properties of surfaces, and in determining deposited mass for sensing applications. A key component in the spring constant of a cantilever is the plan-view shape. In recent years, the trapezoidal plan-view shape has become available since it offers certain advantages to fast-scanning AFM and can improve sensor performance in fluid environments. Euler beam equations relating cantilever stiffness to the cantilever dimensions and Young’s modulus have been proven useful and are used extensively to model cantilever mechanical behaviour and calibrate the spring constant. In this work, we derive a simple correction factor to the Euler beam equation for a beam-shaped cantilever that is applicable to any cantilever with a trapezoidal plan-view shape. This correction factor is based upon previous analytical work and simplifies the application of the previous researchers formula. A correction factor to the spring constant of an AFM cantilever is also required to calculate the torque produced by the tip when it contacts the sample surface, which is also dependent on the plan-view shape. In this work, we also derive a simple expression for the torque for triangular plan-view shaped cantilevers and show that for the current generation of trapezoidal plan-view shaped AFM cantilevers, this will be a good approximation. We shall apply both these correction factors to determine Young’s modulus for a range of trapezoidal-shaped AFM cantilevers, which are specially designed for fast-scanning. These types of AFM probes are much smaller in size when compared to standard AFM probes. In the process of analysing the mechanical properties of these cantilevers, important insights are also gained into their spring constant calibration and dimensional factors that contribute to the variability in their spring constant.

Manipulation of Nickel Nanoparticles Deposited on HOPG

2004 ◽  
Vol 853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massood Z. Atashbar ◽  
Valery N. Bliznyuk ◽  
Srikanth Singamaneni
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Force Microscope ◽  
Magnetic Force ◽  
Nickel Nanoparticles ◽  
Pyrolytic Graphite ◽  
Critical Force ◽  
Contact Mode ◽  
Cyclic Voltametry ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Nickel Nanowires ◽  
Plating Solution

ABSTRACTNickel nanowires were fabricated by electrodepositing Ni from an aqueous plating solution onto the step edges of Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG). Freshly cleaved HOPG was exposed to a plating solution of nickel and electro chemically deposited by cyclic voltametry. The morphology of the deposited nanoparticles was studied using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) in non-contact mode. The magnetic force of interaction between the nanoparticles was studied by magnetizing the particles. The critical force to displace the nanoparticles was estimated using contact mode of AFM.

Atomic Paths in Scanning of the AFM Tip above the Close-Packed Surface in Repulsive Mode

1998 ◽  
Vol 05 (05) ◽  
pp. 989-996
Author(s):  
E. V. Blagov ◽  
G. L. Klimchitskaya ◽  
V. M. Mostepanenko
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Force Microscope ◽  
Vertical Resolution ◽  
Contact Mode ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Elastic Approximation

The paths are calculated for the surface and tip apex atoms when scanning the AFM tip above the close-packed lattice in contact mode. The interaction of the sample and the tip atoms is considered in elastic approximation. The dependence of the atomic paths on the type of the tip and its orientation is investigated. It is shown that the vertical characteristic sizes of the atomic paths are several times larger than the vertical resolution of the atomic force microscope.

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