Lecture

Scanning Probe Microscopy: Forces, Tips, and Probes

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

In course

MICRO-530: Nanotechnology

This course gives the basics for understanding nanotechnology from an engineer's perspective: physical background, materials aspects and scaling laws, fabrication and imaging of nanoscale devices. ...

Description

This lecture covers the principles of Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), focusing on the forces involved in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), including capillary, van der Waals, and adhesion forces. It explains the interaction between inter-atomic forces and the distance between atoms, as well as the force-distance curves in AFM. The lecture also discusses the impact of tip shape on resolution limits, the fabrication of microfabricated silicon tips, and the material properties of SPM cantilever probes. Additionally, it explores the contact mode in SPM/AFM, capillary forces, tip sharpening techniques, and the fabrication of nanoprobes using micromachining methods.

Instructors (2)

Jürgen Brugger

I am a Professor of Microengineering and co-affiliated to Materials Science. Before joining EPFL I was at the MESA Research Institute of Nanotechnology at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, at the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, and at the Hitachi Central Research Laboratory, in Tokyo, Japan. I received a Master in Physical-Electronics and a PhD degree from Neuchâtel University, Switzerland. Research in my laboratory focuses on various aspects of MEMS and Nanotechnology. My group contributes to the field at the fundamental level as well as in technological development, as demonstrated by the start-ups that spun off from the lab. In our research, key competences are in micro/nanofabrication, additive micro-manufacturing, new materials for MEMS, increasingly for wearable and biomedical applications. Together with my students and colleagues we published over 200 peer-refereed papers and I had the pleasure to supervise over 25 PhD students. Former students and postdocs have been successful in receiving awards and starting their own scientific careers. I am honoured for the appointment in 2016 as Fellow of the IEEE “For contributions to micro and nano manufacturing technology”. In 2017 my lab was awarded an ERC AdvG in the field of advanced micro-manufacturing.

Giovanni Boero

Expertise Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Electron spin resonance (ESR), Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), RF/MW discrete and integrated electronics, Magnetic sensors, Noise phenomena. Mission Methods based on the magnetic resonance of nuclear spins (nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)), unpaired electrons spins (electron spin resonance (ESR)), and coupled electron spins electrons (ferromagnetic resonance (FMR)) are very powerful radiofrequency/microwave spectroscopy tools used in many research and industrial a

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning force microscopy (SFM) is a very-high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the optical diffraction limit. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the optical diffraction limit.

Scanning probe microscopy

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is a branch of microscopy that forms images of surfaces using a physical probe that scans the specimen. SPM was founded in 1981, with the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope, an instrument for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. The first successful scanning tunneling microscope experiment was done by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer. The key to their success was using a feedback loop to regulate gap distance between the sample and the probe.

Kelvin probe force microscope

Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), also known as surface potential microscopy, is a noncontact variant of atomic force microscopy (AFM). By raster scanning in the x,y plane the work function of the sample can be locally mapped for correlation with sample features. When there is little or no magnification, this approach can be described as using a scanning Kelvin probe (SKP). These techniques are predominantly used to measure corrosion and coatings. With KPFM, the work function of surfaces can be observed at atomic or molecular scales.

Etching (microfabrication)

Etching is used in microfabrication to chemically remove layers from the surface of a wafer during manufacturing. Etching is a critically important process module, and every wafer undergoes many etching steps before it is complete. For many etch steps, part of the wafer is protected from the etchant by a "masking" material which resists etching. In some cases, the masking material is a photoresist which has been patterned using photolithography. Other situations require a more durable mask, such as silicon nitride.

Material

Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geological origin or biological function. Materials science is the study of materials, their properties and their applications. Raw materials can be processed in different ways to influence their properties, by purification, shaping or the introduction of other materials.

Related lectures (55)

Scanning Probe Microscopy: Fundamentals and Applications

Explores the fundamentals and applications of scanning probe microscopy, including STM setup, surface reconstruction, quantum tunneling, and scanning force microscopy.

Scanning Probe Microscopy: Self-Sensing Cantilevers

Explores self-sensing cantilevers in Scanning Probe Microscopy and the advantages of integrated sensor-actuator systems for high-speed data collection.

Nanoscale MEMS: Fabrication, Tips, and Microscopy

Covers the fabrication of nanoscale MEMS devices and the operation of the Atomic Force Microscope for measuring ultrasmall forces on particles.

Atomic Force Microscopy: Nanoscale Metrology

Explores Atomic Force Microscopy, covering principles, applications, resolution, feedback mechanisms, and imaging techniques.

Scanning Probe Microscopy: Advanced Modes