M.

Khari Secario

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Scanning Probe Microscopy
(SPM)
Introduction of basic principle and
instrumentation
Contact-mode AFM
Lateral force microscopy (LFM)
Tapping mode AFM
Scanning tunneling microscope (STM)
Probe Microscope Basic
Component
Cantilever and Tip
Piezoelectric tube (PZT) scanner
Photodiode
SPM tip and cantilever
Cantilever bending and twisting modes
cause reflected laser spot to be displaced
on a position sensitive photodiode array
Laser spot is actually focused down to
~20 μm size onto a section of the
cantilever (that is a bit larger).
Tip is extremely sharp (2-15 nm in radius
of the tip end curvature), but cantilever
spring constant is small enough to keep
forces at nN level, such that the force per
unit contact area (pressure) does not
exceed the yield strength of the material
AFM piezo-tube scanner
The scanner is constructed by combining
independently operated piezo electrodes for X,
Y, and Z into a single tube, forming a scanner
which can manipulate samples and probes
with extreme precision in 3 dimensions.
What is Piezoelectric?
Piezoelectricity is
the ability of some
materials (notably 
crystals and certain 
ceramics, including 
bone) to generate
an electric field or 
electric potential in
response to applied
mechanical stress.
The piezoelectric effect is
reversible in that
materials exhibiting
the direct piezoelectric
effect (the production of
an electric potential
when stress is applied)
also exhibit the reverse
piezoelectric effect (the
production of stress
and/or strain when an
electric field is applied)
Photo-diode sensing
cantilever deflection and
twisting
What is Photodiode?
 A photodiode is a type of
photodetector capable of
converting light into either
current or voltage, depending
upon the mode of operation
 Hundreds or thousands (up to
2048) photodiodes of typical
sensitive area 0.025 x 1
mm each arranged as a one-
dimensional array, which can be
used as a position sensor.
 One advantage of photodiode
arrays (PDAs) is that they allow
for high speed parallel read out
since the driving electronics may
not be built in like a traditional
CMOS or CCD sensor.
AFM operation principle
Depending on the situation, forces that are
measured in AFM include mechanical contact
force, van der Waals forces, capillary forces,
chemical bonding, electrostatic forces,
magnetic forces (at magnetic force
microscope, MFM), Casimir forces, solvation
forces, etc
AFM tip-sample interaction can be
qualitatively explained in terms of van der
Waals forces.
Most frequently the van der Waals
interactions energy of two atoms, located on
the r distance from each other, is
approximated by the exponential function:
Lennard-Jones potential
The first term of sum in the given expression describes
the long-distance attraction caused, basically, by a
dipole-dipole interaction of atoms. The second term
takes into account the atoms repulsion on small
distances. The ro parameter is the equilibrium distance
between atoms, - energy value in the minimum.
Real interaction of a tip with a sample has more
complex character; however, the basic features of the
given interaction are the same – the AFM tip
experiences attraction from the sample on big
distances and repulsion on small ones
Contact mode-AFM
AFM contact mode is operated either
at a constant interaction force of a tip
with a surface or at a constant
distance between the probe base and
the surface of a sample
In the constant distance mode, the
probe moves on some average height
Z=constant above the sample; during
this the cantilever bend ΔZ,
proportional to the force influencing
the tip from the surface is registered
in every point.
In the constant force
mode, the probe
moves on some
average force
(showed by constant
ΔZ) during this the
sample will be
positioned at z
direction
Lateral force microscopy
(LFM) images
For LFM, the probe is
scanned sidewise and the
friction signal is
calculated.
The degree of torsion of
the cantilever supporting
the probe is a relative
measure of surface friction
caused by the lateral force
exerted on the scanning
probe.
Tip Effects on AFM image
broadening---Tip broadening arises when the
radius of curvature of the tip is comparable with,
or greater than, the size of the feature to be
imaged. As the tip scans over the specimen, the
sides of the tip make contact before the apex, and
the microscope begins to respond to the feature.
This is what we may call tip convolution
Broadening of features
by tip

The shape traced by the tip is in essence a superposition

of spheres.
Imaged lateral size is much larger than true size.
Vertical size is approximately correct.
Independent measurement of sphere size (e.g., via
electron microscopy) or distribution of sphere sizes (e.g.,
via scattering) can provide a calibration specimen: a
means of determining the true shape of the tip via a
nanoparticle.
Simple formulas describing the apparent
width of objects:
Tapping mode AFM &
Non-Contact Mode AFM
A tip is vibrating when the
tip is far away form the
sample surface

A tip is vibrating when the

tip is close to the sample
surface
In a contactless mode the cantilever makes
forced oscillations with a small amplitude
about 1 nanometer.
During approach of a tip to a surface the
cantilever is affected by an additional force Fps
acting from the sample.
Tapping mode AFM in
fluid
Tapping mode operation in fluid has the same
advantages as in the air or vacuum.
imaging in a fluid medium tends to damp the
cantilever's normal resonant frequency.
When an appropriate frequency is selected (usually in
the range of 5,000 to 40,000 cycles per second), the
amplitude of the cantilever will decrease when the tip
begins to tap the sample, similar to Tapping Mode
operation in air.
Alternatively, the very soft cantilevers can be used to
get the good results in fluid. The spring constant is
typically 0.1 N/m compared to the tapping mode in air
where the cantilever may be in the range of 1-100 N/m
Tapping Mode vs Non-
Contact Mode AFM
AFM - is the van der Waals force between the
tip and the surface; this may be either the
short range repulsive force (in contact-mode)
or the longer range attractive force (in non-
contact mode).
STM – Scanning Tunneling
Microscope
STM - is the tunneling current between a
metallic tip and a conducting substrate which
are in very close proximity but not actually
in physical contact.
STM-basic principle

If the STM tip is close enough to the surface then an applied
voltage between the tip and sample will cause electrons to
tunnel through the junction.
The tunneling current is exponentially dependent on the
junction width and increases by a decade per Angstrom as the
tip is brought closer to the surface.
In typical systems a tip-sample separation of 0.5 nm will
produce currents of 1 pA~10 nA for biases of 0.2 ~1.8 V.
Tunneling Phenomena :
Classical vs Quantum
Classic Term : At classical view, if
incoming wavelike
particle (I) with
energy lower than
potential barier, then
it can’t go through to
(III)
It can only passing
the potential barier if
energy is higher than
potential barier
But at quantum
view, we still can Quantum

find that particle,

even if it’s energy is
lower than potential
barier
Probability to find
electron at (III) is
smaller than (I), but
not exactly zero
The STM represents an electromechanical system with
a feedback.
The feedback system keeps the tunnel current value
between a tip and a sample at the set level, which is
selected by the operator.
The control of the tunnel current value and
consequently, the tip-sample distances is performed by
means of moving the tip with a piezoelectric scanner.
STM- operation mode
Constant current mode (in which the
tunneling current is monitored as the tip is
scanned parallel to the surface). This is
achieved by adjusting the tip's distance above
the surface so that the tunneling current does
not vary with the lateral tip position. In this
mode the tip will move slightly upwards as it
passes over a surface atom, and conversely,
slightly in towards the surface as it passes
over a hollow
Constant height mode (in
which the tunneling current
is monitored as the tip is
scanned parallel to the
surface)
Result
Manipulation of individual
atoms by STM
Another powerful STM capability is the ability
to move atoms and molecules.
This is achieved by placing the tip close
enough to the surface adsorbate so that the
tipadsorbate attraction is comparable to the
surface corrugation barrier.
In this regime, the molecule will follow the tip
wherever it is moved along the surface.
One can then retract the tip, without causing
the molecule to desorb from the surface
 STM image of a single
“Atomic stadium”--
Co
STM
atom on Cu(111)
images of quantum
shown in
corral
a light shaded view.
nanostructure
Trrent
(diameter
1 nA, sample bias -10
31.2 nm) composed
mV,
of 36
T=2.3
Iron atoms K, J A. Stroscio,
on Copper
Ag atoms, By S. W.
R. & Eigler,
(111), Lutz
Hla et
IBM J. Celotta, NIST
How to make probe tip?
How To Make Probe Tip?
Wire Cutting
Electromechanical Etching
A. D. L. Humphris, M. J. Miles, and J. K. Hobbs
University of Bristol, H.H. Wills Physics Laboratory,
Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TL, United Kingdom
The image acquisition time of an AFM, and in
fact any SPM, is limited by three factors:
the measurement bandwidth of the local
interaction between the tip and sample,
the rate at which the tip can scan the surface
of the sample in an x, y plane, and
how quickly the tip can follow the contours of
the sample.
urface of crystallized
olysethylene-oxided sPEOd on a glass substrate collected
sing both conventional AFM and HSAFM.
To determine the microscope’s ability to image soft
materials, a thin film of polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate
(PHB/V) was prepared by melt casting at 180 °C and then
quenching to room temperature.
The resultant supercooled liquid crystallizes slowly at
room temperature to form spherulites.
Figure 3 shows a series of images of the growth front of a
spherulite during crystallization from the melt, the lower
ssmoothd portion of each image being molten polymer.

@31 ms
(256x256)
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For Better Understanding 
Resource (Thanks to) :
AFM – Wikipedia
SPM – wikipedia
STM – wikipedia
PVPF control of piezoelectric tube scanners, B. Bhikkaji
∗, M. Ratnam, S.O.R. Moheimani, Science Direct –
Elsevier 135 (2007)
LFM, www.mechmat.caltech.edu/.../1-4-0.htm
A mechanical Microscope : HSAFM, humphris et al,
Applied Physics Letter 86 (2005)
AFM instruction experiment, Marco Fell, 2006,
http://www.phys.ethz.ch/phys/students/bachelor/vp/experim
Nanoparticle Technology Handbook, Elsevier
SPM lecture, nianqiang.wu
All video comes from youtube. Thanks to video maker
and uploader.