Application: Ultimate Thermal Stability
demonstration of ultra-low drift properties of the attoCSFM
In order to characterize both the low-frequency drift of
the atomic force miroscope unit of the attoCSFM with
respect to the sample, a carbon nanotube (CNT) was imaged (a). By scanning the same line across the CNT (green
line in overview image) 500 subsequent times within 42
minutes (b), a line-to-line position jitter below 1 nm and
a long-term drift of less than 3 nm were observed (c),
demonstrating the outstanding thermal and mechanical
stability of the attoCSFM.
b
time 0 – 42 min
a
CNT position (nm)
After several hours of thermalization, drifts below 1 nm/h
can be achieved (d). The part of drift due to scanner creep
is constantly monitored interferometrically and can
therefore be corrected.
3
height [nm]
profile height [nm]
Left: AFM-image of a carbon
nanotube.
Right: Time-trace of the green linecut depicted in the AFM image to
the left. The line-to-line position
jitter is below 1 nm, drift within
42 min is below 3 nm.
(attocube application labs, 2012;
sample courtesy of A. Hartschuh,
LMU Munich, Germany)
0
0
100
position [nm]
200
Objective
c
2
1 nm
3 nm
42 min
-2
0 10 20 30 40
drift between sample and AFM (nm)
time (min)
5
d
slope=1 nm/hr
0
12 h
-5
-10
7 8 9 10 11 12
time after start of thermalization (hrs)
attoMICROSCOPY
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