A variable temperature ultrahigh vacuum atomic force microscope

A variable temperature ultrahigh vacuum atomic force microscope

A new atomic force microscope (AFM) that operates in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) is described. The sample is held fixed with spring clamps while the AMF cantilever and deflection sensor are scanned above it. Thus, the sample is easily coupled to a liquid nitrogen cooled thermal reservoir which allows AFM operation from ≈ 100 K to room temperature. AFM operation above room temperature is also possibl...

Combined Kerr microscope and magnetic force microscope for variable temperature ultrahigh vacuum investigations

New design of a variable-temperature ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscope

We present the design of a variable-temperature ultrahigh vacuum ~UHV! scanning tunneling microscope which can be operated between 20 and 400 K. The microscope is mounted directly onto the heat exchanger of a He continuous flow cryostat without vibration isolation inside the UHV chamber. The coarse approach is performed with an inertial slider driven by the same piezo tube that is also used for...

Measurement of interfacial shear (friction) with an ultrahigh vacuum atomic force microscope

We have studied the variation of frictional force with externally applied load for a Pt-coated atomic force microscope tip in contact with the surface of mica cleaved in ultrahigh vacuum. At low loads, the frictional force varies with load in almost exact proportion to the area of contact as predicted by the Johnson-KendallRoberts ( JKR) theory [K. L. Johnson, K. Kendall, and A. D. Roberts, Pro...

New variable low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope for use in ultrahigh vacuum

We describe the design and characterization of a new variable low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope @TM) which has been proven to give atomic resolution at temperatures between 77 K and room temperature but which is also capable of performing experiments as low as 4 K. The STM “head” itself consists of a unique cold dewar made up of an upper and lower reservoir connected together by two...