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attocube attoAFM I User Manual

Atomic force microscope
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Version:
1.0
Modified: February 2015
Products: Atomic Force Microscope attoAFM I
User Manuals
Atomic Force Microscope
attoAFM I/MFM/KPFM
P5788
attocube systems AG, Königinstrasse 11 A, D - 80539 München Germany
Phone: +49 89-24208888 Fax: +49 89-24208890
E-Mail: info@attocube.com www.attocube.com
For technical queries, contact:
support@attocube.com
attocube systems office Munich:
Phone
+49 89 2877 80915
Fax
+49 89 2877 80919

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  • Page 1 Products: Atomic Force Microscope attoAFM I User Manuals Atomic Force Microscope attoAFM I/MFM/KPFM P5788 attocube systems AG, Königinstrasse 11 A, D - 80539 München Germany Phone: +49 89-24208888 Fax: +49 89-24208890 E-Mail: info@attocube.com www.attocube.com For technical queries, contact: support@attocube.com attocube systems office Munich:...
  • Page 2 Disclaimer of Responsibility attocube systems does not assume any responsibility for the use of any circuitry described in this manual. attocube systems reserves the right to change the product specifications and the functionality, or the manual itself, at any time without prior notice.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Starting a scan ................... 48 Page 3 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...

  • Page 4: Introduction

    (explained in detail in the next section). To perform low temperature microscopy, the attoAFM I is cooled by a controlled exchange gas atmosphere in a liquid Helium bath cryostat or a variable temperature insert or a closed cycle cooling system.

  • Page 5: System Overview

    ASC500 controller. Page 5 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject to change without notice.

  • Page 6: Safety Information

    I.1. Safety Information For the continuing safety of the operators of this equipment and the protection of the equipment itself, the operator should take note of the Warnings, Cautions, and Notes throughout this handbook and, where visible, on the product itself. The following safety symbols may be used on the equipment: Laser safety warning.

  • Page 7: I.1.A. Warnings

    5 minutes. Internal components need to be discharged. Page 7 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...
  • Page 8 80% RH. The unit must be connected only to an earthed fused supply of 100, 115 or 230 V, 50/60 Hz. Caution. In case of failure refer to your local dealer or attocube systems. Users are cautioned not to attempt to access, open, modify, or service any part of the setup unless outlined herein or otherwise directed by the technical support staff from attocube systems.

  • Page 9: Mode Of Operation And Force Detection Scheme

    : Schematic drawing of the attoAFM I system. Page 9 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...
  • Page 10 The force detection scheme for the attoAFM I microscope system is based on an all fiber low-coherence interferometer (seeFigure 3). Via a 50/50 fiber coupler, a laser beam illuminates a cavity built up from the end-face of the fiber and the back-face of the cantilever. The light reflected back from these surfaces gives rise to interferences that can be seen by a detector.
  • Page 11 (z-scanner piezo voltage), providing a topographic image. Page 11 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...

  • Page 12: Components Of The Microscope And Technical Specifications

    ANSxyz100 scanner and a copper sample plate that carries heater and temperature sensor. The attoAFM I module, consisting of the cantilever holder and the attoAFM I head together with the fiber based deflection detection system, is fixed onto a slide which is mounted in the microscope housing.
  • Page 13 3He system. Page 13 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...

  • Page 14: Iii.2. Electronics

    Four axes of the ANC300 controller provide the high voltages for driving the attocube scanners for fine positioning (voltage amplifier with an amplification factor 15).The fourth axis is another high-voltage amplifier that drives the dither piezo of the attoAFM I.

  • Page 15: Iii.2.C. Anc350 Piezo Controller For Positioners

    : The ANC350 piezo controller. Page 15 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...

  • Page 16: Iii.2.D. Laser Detector Module: Ldm1300

    III.2.d. Laser detector module: LDM1300 The attoAFM I system includes a temperature-stabilised laser-detector module, the LDM1300. The wavelength of the laser diode is 1310 nm. The built-in photodetector may be read out via the ‘DET OUT’ BNC connector. For technical specifications please refer to the respective manual.

  • Page 17: Iii.3. (Dis-)Assembling The Attoafm I Module

    Page 17 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject to change without notice.
  • Page 18 Make sure not to squeeze any wire! ‘Bottom part’, including the housing bottom plate and positioner stack. You must not disassemble the stack. If there is any problem with the stack please contact attocube AG for support. Page 18...

  • Page 19: Iii.3.B. Mounting The Scanner-Positioner Stack

    Page 19 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...

  • Page 20: Iii.5. Changing The Afm Cantilever

    III.5. Changing the AFM Cantilever Page 20...
  • Page 21 (b) Page 21 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...
  • Page 22 3. Perform the AFM tip exchange (for details, see description below) 4. Once a new tip is mounted, reattach the cantilever holder: A guiding rod (c) automatically centers the cantilever holder, while the fiber ferrule is still far away from any potentially harmful obstacle. 5.

  • Page 23: Iii.5.A. The Cantilever Mounting Platform

    Page 23 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...
  • Page 24 Perform cantilever exchange 4.-5.; Do only use the plastic tweezers for handling the cantilevers near the alignment chip. Metallic parts may easily destroy this silicon chip. If the cantilever is not sitting correctly within the chip you may gently push it with the end of the plastic tweezers until it gets into the right place.
  • Page 25 Q-tip. Page 25 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject to change without notice.

  • Page 26: Iii.5.C. Mounting The Attoafm I Sensor Head Into The Housing

    III.5.c. Mounting the attoAFM I sensor head into the housing Before mounting the attoAFM I head into the housing make sure that the z-positioning stage is fully retracted and that the cantilever cannot touch the sample, i.e. sits clearly above the later.

  • Page 27: Connecting The Attoafm I Module

    : Overview of controller connections. Page 27 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...

  • Page 28: Iv.1.B. Break-Out Panel Connections

    IV.1.b. Break-Out Panel Connections The break-out panels are connected to the different controllers via BNC cables. These cables are labelled for your convenience. See Table 2 for a complete list. Figure 13 : Break-Out Panels. Label break-out Controller connection Usage panel ANC350 Axis 1 (OUTPUT) X Positioner: Px...

  • Page 29: Iv.1.C. Pin Connections

    Table 3: Overview of pin connections. Page 29 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...
  • Page 30 In order to get access to the front-row-pin connections the front side needs to be taken off by opening one screw. Front view of the present housing pin connections. Back view of the present housing pin connections. Page 30...

  • Page 31: Iv.1.D. Vacuum Feedthroughs

    Page 31 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...

  • Page 32: Measurement Procedure

    Measurement Procedure This chapter will lead you through your first measurement in the different AFM modes available. V.1. Operation Modes Different operation modes are possible. The two fundamental ones are the Contact Mode - with and without feedback - and the Non-Contact Mode (also intermittent or modulation mode).

  • Page 33: V.1.B. Contact Mode With Feedback On (Constant Force)

    (amplitude feedback). Alternatively, the amplitude and the Page 33 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...
  • Page 34 phase of the oscillation resonance can be kept constant (phase feedback). During the scan, the output signal of the feedback loop is recorded (z-piezo voltage), providing the topographic information. The error signal is the oscillation amplitude of the cantilever. For non-contact mode scans, cantilevers with a high stiffness (k > 2 N/m) are used to avoid the problem of unwanted jump-to-contact (stop of the oscillation).

  • Page 35: V.1.D. Mfm And Efm Measurements

    (i.e. HFx=0) with means of tuning the Page 35 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...

  • Page 36: V.2. Performing A Scan

    Two sets of parameters for room temperature and low temperature may be saved. The parameters for the low temperature scaling entered here by attocube systems are the calibrated 4 K values. Note that at room temperature 4 V is the upper limit for the ASC500 scanner outputs and at 4 K this limit increases to 10 V (this limits are valid for an amplifier with amplification factor 15, namely the ANC300).

  • Page 37: V.2.B. Non-Contact Mode

    WP (point of highest sensitivity where signal depends linearly on the Page 37 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...
  • Page 38 cavity length between fiber end and cantilever) is located at the midpoint between minimum and maximum of the interference signal. Adjust ADC1 to the WP by tuning the dither piezo voltage, i.e. DAC1, in the ‘DACs’ window. 2. Finding the resonance frequency f of the cantilever: In non-contact mode, the cantilever is excited at its resonance frequency f with the an AC voltage A...
  • Page 39 /FWHM. Page 39 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject to change without notice.
  • Page 40 3. Starting the Auto Approach: The auto approach procedure will expand the z-scanner while constantly checking the photo-detected Ac signal AFM_A . If a certain threshold (stop condition) is not detected within one stroke, the z piezo will be retracted and a predefined number of coarse steps in z direction will be executed.
  • Page 41 Page 41 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...
  • Page 42 DAC: monitored signal: AFM Aosc Start: End: maximum z piezo stroke. See data sheet at the end of this manual Data Points: 1000 Fwd/Bkwd: not checked Data Point Avg. Time: 2-5ms Delay Per Data Point: 0ms Now open the 'Details Spectroscopy' sub menu and enter the following parameters: Limiter: (Stops the z spectroscopy before the tip crashes into the sample) Active:...

  • Page 43: V.2.C. Contact Mode

    Page 43 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...
  • Page 44 Figure 18: Working point WP. The fiber-tip cavity now must be adjusted to a minimum (ADC1 ) of the interferogram by tuning the DC voltage of the dither piezo (normally on DAC1). Hence, as soon as the sample starts pushing against the tip the cavity will decrease and the interferometric signal must increase.
  • Page 45 Retract Page 45 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject to change without notice.
  • Page 46 Press the ‘Autoapproach Details’ where the following parameters should be entered: Coarse Axis: Axis 3 Coarse Dir.: Forward Coarse Device: ANC150 Coarse Trig. Pol.: High Active Coarse Trig. Hold Time: Check the ‘Axis 3’ settings to have reasonable values for the coarse positioning, for example: Frequency: 200-1000Hz...
  • Page 47 P/I-feedback loop. Page 47 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...

  • Page 48: V.2.D. Starting A Scan

    V.2.d. Starting a scan To finally start the scan check the following parameters in the feedback box as already shown before: Actual Value: SPM ADC1 Z limit min: Z limit max: maximum z scanner stroke (see data sheet at the end of the manual). 1-5 m 10-50 Hz Setpoint:...
  • Page 49 Now, a scan may be started. Page 49 © 2001-2015 attocube systems AG. Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. ATTENTION: Specifications and technical data are subject...
  • Page 50 AG Königinstrasse 11a (Rgb) D-80539 München Germany Phone +49 89 2877 809 0 +49 89 2877 809 19 Page 50...

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