Student scanning tunneling microscope

Lewis, R. A.; Gower, S. A.; Groombridge, Paul; Cox, D. T. W.; Adorni‐Braccesi, L. G.

doi:10.1119/1.16703

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…A raster generator and a simple, reliable acquisition system had been already developed in our laboratory [10] and were used to test our low-cost scanners. People interested in an educational use should take into account the intuitive scan generator arrangement and the illustrative analog acquisition (x/y plotter) described in [11]. However, inexpensive A/D cards for personal computers can perform both tasks at lower cost and perhaps in a simpler way.…”

Section: The Actuatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-conventional, inexpensive 3-D scanners for probe microscopy

Mariani¹,

Frediani²,

Ascoli³

1998

Applied Physics A: Materials Science & Processing

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This work was accomplished as a contribution to the development of inexpensive, simplified, easy-to-build SPM instruments for educational use. We designed and tested two different configurations of volume scanners based on piezoelectric audio transducers. Both scanners are driven by conventional general-purpose operational amplifiers at ±15 V power supply. This reduced the cost of the scan stage, including the control electronics, to a few tens of US$, and made it easy to build even by non-specialist operators, in a mid-level mechanics and electronics workshop, using readily available components. Building and using an SPM based on similar scanners could become an interesting and formative experience for students and teachers in technical highschools or other educational institutions.The possibility of performing controlled and repeatable movements with subnanometer resolution was a fundamental condition for the development of scanning probe microscopes (SPM) [1,2]. Because of their resolution and accuracy, piezoelectric actuators (PZAs) are suitable for displacements ranging from more than 100 µm to less than 1 Å, and new types of PZA were developed for the 3-D scan stages that control the relative position of probe and sample in SPM [3][4][5]. One of them [3] has become the standard in SPM actuators. Being the key component, the scan stage is perhaps the most expensive part of a scanning probe system, and its cost reaches ∼ 2000 US$ for each axis.In the past, when piezoelectric actuators were not yet widely available, small electrically controlled displacements were performed through electrodynamic audio loudspeakers. The resolution of such devices was adequate for laser interferometry [6] as well as for quantitative optical microscopy [7], but probably insufficient for probe microscopy. However, many types of electroacoustical transducers, based on the piezoelectric effect, were introduced in the meantime. They are sold in consumer electronics shops at extremely * Corresponding author low prices. Our results show that they could be a cheap alternative to refined laboratory actuators, when cutting-edge performances are not imperative.

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Section: The Actuatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-conventional, inexpensive 3-D scanners for probe microscopy

Mariani¹,

Frediani²,

Ascoli³

1998

Applied Physics A: Materials Science & Processing

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“…Ion mobility spectrometers ͑IMSs͒ are based on the production, separation, and analysis of ions in air, in a process sometimes described as ''gas phase electrophoresis.'' 1 These systems have been used to analyze the composition of gas or liquid samples in applications ranging from space probes 2,3 to drug discovery. 4 The ability of IMS systems to operate at atmospheric pressure provides significant advantages over mass spectrometers ͑MSs͒, and, as a result, IMS systems have replaced the more complex and expensive MS systems in some applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…IMS systems can be divided into two broad classes: those that ionize airborne compounds such as with a radioactive ionization source ͑e.g., 63 Ni), and those that produce ions from liquid samples such as electrospray ͑ES͒ sources. Compact, portable IMS systems currently available 6,7 are based on radioactive-nickel-( 63 Ni-) ionization, [8][9][10][11][12][13] although various groups 3,14 ͑including our own͒ are developing portable ES-based systems. Since ES sources are capable of ionizing nonvolatile ͑e.g., drugs, 15 proteins 16 and peptides, 4 etc.͒ as well as volatile ͑e.g., explosives, 17 etc.͒ materials, such systems are ideal for analyzing the liquid samples produced by the instrumentation used in the life sciences ͑e.g., liquid chromatographs͒.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As opposed to more familiar imaging sensors such as the eye or a camera in which a large number of identical sensors work in parallel ͑in this example, light intensity sensors͒, a scanning probe microscope 1 scans a probe over a large number of distinct points in space and thus maps the spatial distribution of the physical property being analyzed. This property can be the probe-sample distance ͑e.g., using the tunneling current [2][3][4][5][6] or the force applied to a tip 7 ͒, the local magnetic field, 8 the electrochemical current, 9 the thermal conductivity, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A novel electrospray-based ion mobility spectrometer

Bathgate

Cheong

Backhouse

2004

American Journal of Physics

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We present a design for a low-cost ion mobility spectrometer that can be built using the equipment on hand in many electronics-oriented undergraduate laboratories. The construction of this system is based upon the use of printed circuit boards and does not require the specialized drift and sheath gases, vacuum pumps, heater assemblies, high voltage pulsers, or precision pumps that are characteristic of the systems generally reported in the literature. We demonstrate the system in the separation of ions of methanol and water in air. Despite the low cost of this system it has a performance comparable to more complex systems, with a sensitivity of approximately 100 ppm for the protein cytochrome c. This system is suitable for use as an electronics or signal-processing project, or even a biotechnology demonstration.

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Realization of an optical profiler: Introduction to scanning probe microscopy

Friedt

2004

American Journal of Physics

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Scanning probe microscopy is a widely used instrumentation method based on scanning a probe over a sample to map the spatial variation of a physical property over its surface. Here we present the steps required for the realization of a generic scanning probe microscope. The selected sensor is a CD reader optical head that monitors the distance to the focusing point of a lens by which an infrared laser is focused on the reflecting surface of the sample. We thus develop an optical profiler and illustrate practical examples by mapping the topography of a coin. The focus of this article is to describe a low cost profiler illustrating all the steps of the development, from the definition of the probe of the physical property to be monitored to the result on an actual sample.

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Student scanning tunneling microscope

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Non-conventional, inexpensive 3-D scanners for probe microscopy

Non-conventional, inexpensive 3-D scanners for probe microscopy

A novel electrospray-based ion mobility spectrometer

Realization of an optical profiler: Introduction to scanning probe microscopy

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