Dimension FastScan™

The structure and mechanical properties of sub-micron features in materials are of particular interest due to their influence on macroscopic material performance and function. Atomic force microscopy has the high resolution and force control to directly probe the mechanical properties of a wide range of these materials. In this application note from Bruker, consider the development and implementation of several new features that improve the flexibility, accuracy, and productivity of atomic force microscopes in measuring such important material properties as modulus and adhesion.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based nanoelectrical modes have found applications in fields ranging from semiconductors to piezoelectric materials, energy research, and biology. Modes are available to characterize the local conductivity, resistivity, charge, carrier concentration, carrier-type, or piezoelectric properties with nanometer-scale spatial resolution, and usually require direct contact between the AFM tip and sample. In this application note, explore a new approach to nanoelectrical imaging that goes beyond a 2D map.

The development of heterogeneous materials like polymer composites, blends, and multilayers is of considerable importance in the chemicals industry. Bulk viscoelastic measurements are routine in establishing structure-property relationships for these materials. In this application note from Bruker, explore how the development of the AFM-nDMA™ mode, can avoid issues associated with measuring nanoscale viscoelastic properties and how the frequency and temperature dependence of viscoelastic properties in rheologically relevant ranges can be directly measured with 10 nm spatial resolution.

Machine learning, is a powerful tool to establish the presence (or absence) of correlations between microstructure and bulk properties with its ability to flesh out relationships and trends that are difficult to establish otherwise. In this application note from Bruker, explore the use of deep learning tools, such as convolutional neural nets (CNNs), to explore atomic force microscopy (AFM) phase and PeakForce QNM® images of impact copolymers, a polymer blend of polypropylene with micro-sized domains of rubber.

In this application note, explore the Dimension FastScan® Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) which delivers extreme imaging speed without sacrificing the Dimension Icon® resolution and performance.

The scanning probe microscope (SPM) has long been recognized as a useful tool for measuring the mechanical properties of materials. Until recently though, it has been impossible to achieve truly quantitative material property mapping with the resolution and convenience demanded by SPM researchers. A number of recent SPM mode innovations have taken aim at these limitations, and now, with Bruker’s PeakForce QNM®, it is possible to identify material variations unambiguously and at high resolution across a topographic image. In this application note, explore the principles and benefits of the PeakForce QNM imaging mode.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based conductivity measurements are a powerful technique for nanometer-scale electrical characterization on a wide range of samples. Tunneling AFM (TUNA), cover the lower current range (sub-pA up to nA). Bruker has developed an enhanced TUNA module with its proprietary PeakForce Tapping™ mode of operation that makes significant improvements to all three of these elements to enable exquisite tip-sample force control, quantitative nano-mechanical material property mapping through PeakForce QNM™, correlated nanoscale electrical property characterization through TUNA, and extreme ease of use through the ScanAsyst™ image optimization algorithms. A special probe has also been designed for use on particularly challenging samples. In this application note, explore the basics of PeakForce TUNA™, and compare it to standard Contact Mode–based TUNA.

PeakForce Tapping™ (PFT) and ScanAsyst™ (SA) are two atomic force microscope (AFM) imaging techniques that have been recently introduced by Bruker. In this application note, explore the underlying physical background, see how PFT fits into the framework of existing AFM modes, and discover the benefits of the new modes through application examples.

Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), also called surface potential microscopy, has found broad applications, ranging from corrosion studies of alloys, photovoltaic effects on solar cells, and surface analysis. KPFM, together with conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM), has been recognized as the two most used nanoscale electrical characterization tools, complementing each other. In this application note from Bruker, explore how limited spatial resolution and lack of measurement repeatability and accuracy have limited KPFMs usefulness in some critical areas, such as in the identification of donor and acceptor domains in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells, material differentiation in composite materials, and trapped charges on insulators.

This application note reviews recent progress in mapping the properties of soft samples such as cells and gels with force volume and PeakForce QNM and the use of the newest NanoScopeR and NanoScope Analysis features to collect and analyze the data from these techniques.

In this video Andrea Slade, an Applications Specialist at Bruker-Nano, tells SelectScience how the new Dimension FastScan is helping researchers to overcome the current limitations associated with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). With this new technology researches can now study biological dynamics, for example cell migration. As its name suggests the Dimension FastScan enables faster scanning, which not only results in high spatial resolution, but also in high temporal resolution. Interview filmed by SelectScience at ASCB 2012.

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