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产品介绍

Nanotechnology researchers often need an AFM for routine scanning of samples with nanostructures on their surface. The TT-AFM is ideal for these applications. The instrument has an intuitive yet powerful user interface that makes it useful for researchers who are not AFM experts. The TT-AFM includes the most common scan modes: contact, vibrating, LFM, and Phase. The TT-AFM is a particularly useful AFM for labs that have more expensive Atomic Force Microscopes already dedicated to specialized experiments. By adding TT-AFMs into these labs, routine and repetitive scanning of samples that are not particularly challenging can be completed without taking valuable time readjusting the dedicated and more expensive instruments. Additionally, students and researchers can prepare themselves for operating higher-end microscopes by learning to first operate and master the TT-AFM. A few of the common types of samples that can be examined with the TT-AFM include nanostructures, patterned wafers, thin films, cells, biomolecules, and nanostructures.
NanoStructures
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.
Patterned Wafers
Patterned wafers are readily imaged with the TT-AFM. At the left is a test pattern with 5 micron lines. 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.
Materials
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 material 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 with Gwyddion software allows optimization of the images for visualization as well as for measuring grain sizes, line profiles and surface textures. Images such as these are typically measured at 1 Hz or less.
Life Sciences
These two images illustrate the power of the TT-AFM for life 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 left 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 provided by Dr. Ralf Moeller, Germany.

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Instrument Innovators

The TT-AFM is ideal for instrument builders who want to use an Atomic Force Microscope as a platform for creating new instrumentation (such as a new imaging mode), or who want to use an Atomic Force Microscope in combination with another analytical instrument. TT-AFM customers have access to the systems software, mechanical drawings, and schematics. Because the software is written in LabVIEW, it can be easily modified to meet very specific demands.

TT-AFM software was developed in LabVIEW, making it easy for customers with a LabVIEW user license to customize their software. Additionally, National Insturment Data Acquisition Cards can be integrated into the TT-AFM to create a customized experiment.

Instrument Innovators are no longer faced with the decision to either create an entirely new AFM, or to live with the limitations of commercial AFMs that have limited documentation and a closed architecture. An engineering documentation package is available as an option to TT-AFM customers.

      Mechanical Drawings      

All the drawings for mechanical parts used to build a TT-AFM were created in AutoCAD and are included in the optional documentation package. If you require a .dwg file for a specific part in the TT-AFM, AFMWorkshop will provide it to you. Additionally, single parts in the microscope can be purchased if you need to modify a part for your needs. Each part is identified by part numbers on each mechanical drawing.

National Instrument's LabVIEW instrumentation programming language is setting the standard as the graphical programming environment for developing instrumentation. The TT-AFM includes a VI that can be modified for specific needs. The instrument control protocol for addressing functions such as Z feedback, XY scanning and stepper motor control is included with the technical documentation package. The AFMWorkshop does not provide a LabVIEW software development liscence – this must be pruchased from NI.

Direct access to TT-AFM electronics signals may be gained from a 50 pin ribbon cable at the rear of the TT-AFM EBox, or from the mode connector at the front of the microscope stage. For developers who want even more access, the technical guide includes schematics to all electronics in the TT-AFM, including: photodetector board, piezo electric control board, controller main board, and even the power supply board. There are several pinned signal access points on the main controller board.

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educators

	The AFMWorkshop offers two regularly scheduled educational programs: a TT-AFM Assembly Workshop, and an AFM Applications Workshop. AFMWorkshop will also custom design training programs to suit your needs at your site. Attendees receive training on the theory, practice and assembly of an Atomic Force Microscope during the 5 day Assembly Workshop. Attendees in the Applications workshop learn how to prepare and measure images for metallurgic and life science samples, and spend time in lectures on theory as well as in hands-on labs. For more information on Workshops, Click Here
AFM Book
	Follow This Link Click Here to the “Technical” page of the AFMWorkshop web site is a downloadable book that serves as an ideal introduction to AFM instrumentation, theory, operation and applications. This practical guide is free to the general public. In addition, the book Atomic Force Microscopy written by Dr.'s Peter Eaton and Paul West, and published by Oxford University Press, is available from the AFMWorkshop, Amazon.com, or Oxford University Press. Atomic Force Microscopy includes more detailed discussions than in the free downloadable guide, as well as a complete reference list. For More Information Click Here
Presentations
	AFMWorkshop customers have access to a complete library of PowerPoint® presentations, including over 500 slides on subjects ranging from AFM image analysis, instrument design, quantitative AFM measurements, and Atomic Force Microscope image artifacts. These presentations may be used for teaching courses to undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, a trained instructor from the AFMWorkshop is available to lead a three day course derived from these PowerPoint® presentations.

STAGE

The TT-AFM stage has excellent thermal and mechanical stability required for high resolution AFM scanning. Additionally, its open design facilitates user modification.

Rigid Frame Design The crossed beam design for the stage support is extremely rigid so the AFM is less susceptible to external vibrations.

Light Lever AFM Force Sensor Light lever force sensors are used in almost all atomic force microscopes and permit many types of experiments.

Integrated Probe Holder/Probe Exchanger A unique probe holder and clipping mechanism allows quick and easy probe exchange.

Direct Drive Z stage
A linear motion stage is used to move the probe in a perpendicular motion to the sample. Probe/sample angle alignment is not required, facilitating a much faster probe approach.

Small Footprint
The stage dimensions of 7.5 X 12” require little space and fit easily on a tabletop.

Precision XY Stage with Micrometer
The sample is moved relative to the probe with a precision xy micrometer stage. Thus, the sample can be moved without touching it.

Modes Electric Plug
A six pole electrical plug is located at the back of the stage to expand the capabilities of the TT-AFM.

XYZ Precision Piezo Scanner
The modified tripod design utilizes temperature compensated strain gauges which assure accurate measurements from images. Also, with this design it is possible to rapidly zoom into a feature visualized in an image.

Laser/Detector Alignment
Both the light lever laser and the photo detector adjustment mechanism may be directly viewed. This feature simplifies the laser/detector alignment.

Adaptable Sample Holder
At the top of the XYZ scanner is a removable cap that holds the sample. The cap can be modified - or a new cap can be designed – to hold many types of samples.

EBOX

Electronics in the TT-AFM are constructed around industry standard USB data acquisition electronics. The critical functions, such as xy scanning, are optimized with a 24 bit digital to analog converter. With the analog z feedback loop, the highest fidelity scanning is possible. Vibrating mode scanning is possible with both phase and amplitude feedback using the high sensitivity phase detection electronics.

24 bit scan DAC
Scanning waveforms for generating precision motion in the X-Y axis with the piezo scanners are created with 24 bit DACS driven by a 32 bit micro controller. With 24 bit scanning, the highest resolution AFM images may be measured. Feedback control using the xy strain gauges assures accurate tracking of the probe over the surface.

Phase and Amplitude Detector Circuit
Phase and amplitude in the Ebox are measured with highly stable phase and amplitude chips. The system can be configured to feed back on either phase or amplitude when scanning in vibrating mode.

Signal Accessible
At the rear of the eBox is a 50 pin ribbon cable that gives access to all of the primary electronic signals without having to open the eBox.

Status Lights
At the front of the Ebox is a light panel that has 7 lights. In the unlikely event of a circuit failure, these lights are used for determining the status of the Ebox power supplies.

Precision Analog Feedback
Feedback from the light lever force sensor to the Z piezoceramic is made using a precision analog feedback circuit. The position of the probe may be fixed in the vertical direction with a sample-and-hold circuit.

Variable Gain High Voltage Piezo Drivers
An improved signal to noise ratio, as well as extremely small scan ranges are possible with the variable gain high voltage piezo drivers.

SOFTWARE

Software for acquiring images is designed with the industry standard LabView™ programming visual interface instrument design environment. There are many standard functions, including setting scanning parameters, probe approach, frequency tuning, and displaying images in real time. LabView™ facilitates rapid development for those users seeking to enhance the software with additional special features. LabView also enables the TT-AFM to be readily combined with any other instrument using LabView VI.

	Pre-scan Window A pre-scan window includes all of the functions that are required before a scan is started. The functions are presented in a logical sequence on the screen.
	Scan Window Once all of the steps in the pre-scan window are completed, the scan window is used for measuring images. Scan parameter, Z feedback parameters, and image view functions may be changed with dialogs on this screen.
	LabView Window Industry standard programming environment. Readily customized and modified for specialized applications. Instrumentation already using Labview can be added to the TT-AFM to create new capabilities.

IMAGE ANALYSIS SOFTWARE

Included with the TT-AFM is the Gwyddion open source SPM image analysis software. This complete image analysis package has all the software functions necessary to process, analyze and display SPM images.

• visualization: false color representation with different types of mapping
• shaded, logarithmic, gradient- and edge-detected, local contrast representation, Canny lines
• OpenGL 3D data display: false color or material representation
• easily editable color maps and OpenGL materials
• basic operations: rotation, flipping, inversion, data arithmetic, crop, resampling
• leveling: plane leveling, profiles leveling, three-point leveling, facet leveling, polynomial background removal, leveling along user-defined lines
• value reading, distance and angle measurement
• profiles: profile extraction, measuring distances in profile graph, profile export
• filtering: mean, median, conservative denoise, Kuwahara, minimum, maximum, checker pattern removal
• general convolution filter with user-defined kernel
• statistical functions: Ra, RMS, projected and surface area, inclination, histograms, 1D and 2D correlation functions, PSDF, 1D and 2D angular distributions, Minkowski functionals, facet orientation analysis
• statistical quantities calculated from area under arbitrary mask
• row/column statistical quantities plots
• ISO roughness parameter evaluation
• grains: threshold marking and un-marking, watershed marking
• grain statistics: overall and distributions of size, height, area, volume, boundary length, bounding dimensions
• integral transforms: 2D FFT, 2D continuous wavelet transform (CWT), 2D discrete wavelet transform (DWT), wavelet anisotropy detection
• fractal dimension analysis
• data correction: spot remove, outlier marking, scar marking, several line correction methods (median, modus)
• removal of data under arbitrary mask using Laplace or fractal interpolation
• automatic xy plane rotation correction
• arbitrary polynomial deformation on xy plane
• 1D and 2D FFT filtering
• fast scan axis drift correction
• mask editing: adding, removing or intersecting with rectangles and ellipses, inversion, extraction, expansion, shrinking
• simple graph function fitting, critical dimension determination
• force-distance curve fitting
• axes scale calibration
• merging and immersion of images
• tip modeling, blind estimation, dilation and erosion

VIDEO MICROSCOPE

A video optical microscope in an AFM serves three functions: aligning the laser onto the cantilever in the light lever AFM, locating surface features for scanning, and facilitating probe approach. The TT-AFM includes a high performance video optical microscope along with a 3 mega pixel ccd camera, light source, microscope stand, and Windows software for displaying images.

	Video microscope used to locate surface features for scanning. The Vibrating Mode Cantilever is 125 μ long.
	Laser alignment is greatly facilitated with the video optical microscope. This non-vibrating cantilever is 450 μ long. The red spot is from the laser reflecting off the cantilever.

PROBE HOLDER/EXCHANGE

The TT-AFM utilizes a unique probe holder/exchange mechanism. Probes are held in place with a spring device that mates with a probe exchange tool. With the probe exchange tool, changing probes takes only a few minutes.

TT-AFM IMAGES

With a vertical noise floor of 0.1 nm and a horizontal resolution of 2 nm, most types of samples may be imaged with the TT-AFM. These include hard as well as soft samples.

OPEN DESIGN

An open design is at the core of all products offered by the AFM Workshop. New types of experiments are more readily designed and implemented through the use of Lab View software. All the mechanical drawings for the TT-AFM are available in the documentation package option. Finally, the company’s website offers a Users Forum to directly share specialized designs developed for the TT-AFM. For specialized applications, other types of scanners such as flexure and tubes can be easily added to the microscope stage.

SCANNING MODES

Standard with every TT-AFM are non-vibrating(NV) mode and vibrating(V) modes for making topography scans. Additional modes included with the product are lateral force imaging as well as phase mode imaging. All of the scanning modes that can be implemented with a light lever AFM are possible with the TT-AFM.

With the window below, the resonance frequency of a cantilever is readily measured. Additionally, the phase characteristics of the probe sample interaction are captured.

TT-AFM OPTIONS

Although the TT-AFM comes with everything you need to make AFM images, several options are currently available.

Environmental Cell
Permits scanning in inert environments or liquids.

Scanner Fabrication Tool
Facilitates scanner fabrication.

High Resolution Scanner
Allows a range of 15 X 15 microns in XY and 7 microns in Z.

Vibration Cabinet
Reduces unwanted acoustic and structural vibrations.

Conductive AFM
Measures the 2-D conductivity of sample surfaces.

AFM Workshop regularly develops new Options. Contact AFM Workshop for more information on options for the TT-AFM.

SPECIFICATIONS

* Z Noise performance depends greatly on the environment the TT-AFM is used in. Best Z noise performance is obtained in a vibration free environment.

** Every effort is made to present accurate specifications, however, due to circumstances out of the AFMWorkshop’s control specifications are subject to change.

 公司介绍：

COMPANY

Founder

Dr. Paul West is the founder of the AFMWorkshop. Dr. West began his career working with scanning tunneling microscopes(STM) as a postdoc at the California Institute of Technology in 1983 where he built one of the first STM's. His career in the development and application of scanning probe microscopes spans over 25 years.

Paul pioneered the investigation of nanotechnology applications for scanning probe microscope(SPM) technology resulting in patents for nanoscale motion sensors(US Patent #5,009,111, nanoscale position sensors(US patent #5,257,024) and nanoscale digital mass storage(US patent # 4,956,817).

Innovative SPM products invented by Dr. West include:
 

• Fully integrated AFM system having motorised sample positioners, a video microscope and vibration isolation(U.S. Patent #5,291,775).
• Tip scanning light lever AFM(U.S. Patent # 5,319,960)
• Resistive scanning thermal sensing probes(U.S. Patent #5,441,343)
• Integrated AFM with SEM(U.S. Patent #5,455,420)

Thousands of atomic force microscopes developed by Dr. West are in use throughout the world and have resulted in numerous scientific publications, Ph.D. dissertations, and technical breakthroughs.

Dr. West is the author of numerous scientific, technical and educational publications. He served on the National Nanotechnology Initiative which resulted in the first major funding program for nanotechnology research in the United States.

Recently, in collaboration with Dr. Peter Eaton, Dr. West co-authored a book on AFM entitled "Atomic Force Microscopy" that is published by the Oxford University Press.

Mission

Our mission is to develop and market innovative AFM products and components for research, development, OEMs and education. We support our customers with workshops on the construction, operation and applications of our products. We are committed to an open architecture that facilitates innovation by our customers.

Social Responsibility

The AFM Workshop is committed to corporate responsibility. We pledge to donate 5% of our profits to educational non-profits that help with science and engineering education, or to grants for nanotechnology researchers. Please let us know if your organization would benefit from this program.