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| AFM Probes & Calibration Gratings |
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MikroMasch supplies a wide range of AFM probes, calibration gratings and other accessories
for scanning probe microscopes. General applications include topography imaging, materialsensitive
contrast, and researches of conductive and magnetic properties of materials.
AFM Probe Tips
A typical probe consists of a holder that bears one or more silicon bars with a probe tip at one end.
The probe tip can be described in terms of its geometrical, mechanical, magnetic, electric and other
parameters important for interaction with the surface. The cantilever defines how the information
about tip-surface force is transmitted to the system. Whichever AFM mode you use, the right choice of
both probe tip and cantilever is important.
Silicon-etched Probe
The Silicon-etched Tip has a conical shape with the following typical parameters:
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Full tip cone angle: 30º (less than 10º at the last 200 nm of the tip apex) |
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Tip height: 15 ~ 20 µm |
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Tip curvature radius: < 10 nm (uncoated tip) |
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Tip material: n-type silicon |
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Resistivity : 0.01 ~ 0.05 Ohm*cm |
SEM image of uncoated silicon SPM tip
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SEM image of uncoated tip end
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Distribution of phosphorus concentration by
depth in regular silicon cantilever and tip
HI’RES Probe
HI-RES is a brand-new SPM probe that has an extremely sharp diamond-like extra tip at the apex.
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Typical curvature radius of extra tip: 1 nm |
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Typical height of extra tip : 100 ~ 200 nm |
The outstanding feature of the extra tip is a subnanometer curvature radius. With the new HI'RES
probe, it is possible to achieve surprisingly high resolution of nanometer-sized objects such as single
molecules, ultrathin films, porous materials, etc. Moreover, the HI'RES probe opens a number of new
applications for SPM as it makes visible many objects previously hidden under tip artifacts. The HI'RES
probe is more hydrophobic and suffers less contamination compared to silicon ones. The new probe is
sufficiently wear-resistant, ideal for performing many routine scans without loss of resolution. In
general, there are additional smaller extra tips near the main one. Though the extra tips are of different
heights and angles, double imaging is possible on rough surfaces.
Recommended RMS roughness of the surface: < 20nm
TEM images of the HI'RES probe and single extratip
 
STING Probe
The STING probe features an additional narrow and long extra tip grown via the Electron Beam
Deposition (EBD) technique at the very apex of the silicon tip. The extra tip has a conical shape with the
following parameters:
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Extra tip aspect ratio : at least 4:1 |
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Extra tip height : > 600 nm |
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Total tip height : 15 ~ 20 µm |
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Typical curvature radius : 5 ~ 10 nm (uncoated tip) |
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Extra tip material : 5 ~ 10 nm (uncoated tip) |
The extra tip is tilted in respect to the silicon tip axis by 10 ° for vertical positioning of the tip over the sample surface. Longer extra tip and other tilt angle is possible by special request.
SEM image of the STING extra tip
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Tilt angle of extra tip in relation to the
symmetry axis
of the silicon tip.
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Calibration Gratings
Most SPM researches are not controllable by any other measurement technique due to the small dimensions and specific structures of the objects. This makes accuracy and reliability very important in SPM results. MikroMasch supplies a number of calibration gratings, which are specialised for detection and correction of artifacts of Atomic Force Microscopes.
TGG01 - calibration grating for lateral calibration, tip characterisation, detection of lateral and vertical non-linearity of the scanner, detection of angular distortions
TGX series - detection of lateral non-linearity, hysteresis, creep, and cross-coupling effects; determination of the scanning tip aspect ratio
TGZ series - vertical calibration of SPM scanners, detection and correction of vertical non-linearity
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