Specific Process Knowledge/Characterization/AFM: Atomic Force Microscopy/Workspaces

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This page is written by Berit Herstrøm @ DTU Nanolab

What scanning mode, experiment/workspace and probe should I select

	Roughness measurements	Topographic measurements with no steep/abrupt steps	Steep/abrupt steps but no high aspect ratio	High aspect ratio measurements	Large area fast scan
Recommended mode	Roughness measurement can be done in both Contact, Tapping and ScanAsyst mode. We recommend ScanAsyst mode because of less chance of (non-uniform) deformation of the sample and less tip wear - and because of ease of use. However it also works fine in tapping mode.	For Topographic measurements with no steep/abrupt steps we also recommend ScanAsyst mode due to less chance of (non-uniform) deformation of the sample and less tip wear - and because of ease of use. We also recommend Tapping mode because we experience less problems when the tip end is slightly broken.	For Steep/abrupt steps but no high aspect ratio structures we still recommend Tapping mode or ScanAsyst mode" .	For High aspect ratio measurements we recommend Tapping mode. We do not have experience with ScanAsyst therefore we recommend Tapping mode.	For large scan areas where you prioritize to scan fast then you can use contact mode. Here you can scan with scan rate of up to 2.43 Hz
Recommended probes	Tap150Al-G or ScanAsyst in air	Tap150Al-G or ScanAsyst in air	Tap150Al-G or ScanAsyst in air for ScanAsyst mode Tap150Al-G or TAP300Al-G for Tapping mode	AR5T-NCHR or FIB6-400A	SNL
Recommended experiment/Workspace	QNM in air*	QNM in air* or TappingMode Tap150A	QNM in air* or TappingMode Tap150A	TappingMode 300nm trench (for steps <~1µm) Tappping mode in air - 6µm Deep Trench (for steps >1~µm)	Standard Contact mode

*By choosing the work space/experiment QNM in air (Mechanical properties - QNM in air) scanAsyst is included and so are the nanomechanical properties like modulus, adhesion, dissipation and deformation.

More information about de different modes

Contact, Tapping and Peak Force Tapping

Please flowing this link to down load the file from LabManager (for DTU Nanloab users):
Introduction to Bruker ScanAsyst and PeakForce tapping AFM technology

PeakForce tapping and quantitative nanomechanical mapping

Please flowing this link to Brukers homepage:

• PeakForce tapping and Nanomechanical option - NOT WORKING ANYMORE
• Quantitative_Mechanical Property mapping at the Nanoscale with PeakForceQNM - NOT WORKING ANYMORE

Peak Force KPFM (Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy)

• Application note on KPFM: File:PeakForce-Kelvin-Probe-Force-Microscopy-App-Note-BRUKER.pdf

Evaluation of used probes

Box number and probe number	User Initials	Explanation	SEM images	Conclusion
Box1 no. 1	bghe	A lot of triangles in the image		Tip end has broken off
Box1 no. 2	bghe/smurthy	Round pillars became misshaped		Tip end has broken off or maybe if was not good to begin with
Box1 no. 3	bghe/zhongli	Force curve bad, could not get the tip off the surface		Tip end has broken off
Box1 no. 4	mattod	Used dirty sample, force curve very bad, tip probably broken		The hole cantilever has broken off
Box1 no. 5	mattod	Tip broken during tip change		Tip/cantilever has been damaged
Box1 no. 6	abshir	Bad force curve (fluctuates)		Tip end has broken off
Box1 no. 7	bghe	Was OK on large structures but they got larger
Box1 no. 8	mattod	Bad force curve		Tip end has broken off
Box1 no. 9	kabi	Blunt tip . Definitely (triangles)		Tip end has broken off
Box1 no. 10	kabi	Blunt tip. Definitely (triangles)		Tip end has broken off
Box2 no. 1	mattod	Bad force curve		Tip seems ok, or at least very close to okay
Box2 no. 2	mattod	Broken tip		It looks like the tip end has been contaminated
Box2 no. 3	bghe	Got large triangle scanning the tip checker		Tip end has broken off