Atomic Force Microscope

Dr. Roto, M. Eng. (roto05@ugm.ac.id)

Kelompok Minat Material Jurusan Kimia FMIPA UGM
Scanning Probe Microscopy

STM: scanning tunneling microscope

tunneling of electrons between probe and surface y
x
AFM: atomic force microscope
measuring of the force on the probe

MFM: magnetic force microscope

AFM with magnetical probe
STM: scanning tunneling microscope

Tunneling of electrons through

piezo- air between probe and surface
element
e-
e -
nA e-

probe e-
R e- e- < 1nm
e-
e-
e-

x-y stage

Limited only for conducting

material
STM: scanning tunneling microscope

piezo-element (changes
length at different
Itip voltages)
nA

Icontrol I

I -> V
transfer
AFM: atomic force microscope
SFM: scanning force microscope

laser
photodiode

probe
AFM probe scans over the
surface (in contact)

piezo-element
e.g. living cells, chromatin fibers
MFM: magnetic force microscope

laser AFM with magnetic probe

photodiode

magnetic tip

piezo-element
e.g. hard disc, tape
 Atomic Force Microscope

photodiode laser

cantilever
piezo z
cantilever tip
x y
 Invented in 1986
Cantilever
Tip
Surface
Laser
Multi-segment photodetector

Three common types of AFM tip. (a) normal tip (3 m tall); (b) supertip;
(c) Ultralever (also 3 m tall). Electron micrographs by Jean-Paul Revel,
Caltech. Tips from Park Scientific Instruments; supertip made by Jean-Paul
Revel.

http://www.molec.com/what_is_afm.html
How does the microscope work?

laser photodiode
Tip scans sample diode
mirror
Up and down movement of tip
recorded by position sensing
photodiode

Si3N4
tip
sample
 laser photodiode
diode
mirror

Tip scans sample

Up and down movement of tip

recorded by position sensing
photodiode
Si3N4
tip
sample
Two modes of operation laser photodiode
diode
mirror

Si3N4
tip
sample
Contact mode - short-range interactions () - interatomic forces

Tip: 5-20 nm radius, 10-25 m

high, on 50-400 m
cantilever beam
 Contact mode - short-range interactions () - interatomic forces

Tip: 5-20 nm radius, 10-25 m

high, on 50-400 m
cantilever beam

Cantilever: low stiffness - can't

deform surface

Tip contacts surface

Tip scans surface: either tip or

specimen moved by
piezoelectric positioning
Detector system can measure system over x and y
deflections in nm range
Contact mode - short-range interactions () - interatomic forces

Two ways - 'constant force' . feedback system

moves tip in z direction to keep force
constant

'constant height'. no feedback system -

usually used when surface roughness small
higher scan speeds possible

Tapping mode - long-range forces - van der Waals,

electrostatic, magnetic

Tip vibrates (105 Hz) close to

specimen surface (50-150 )
with amplitude 10-100 nm

May at times lightly contact surface

Suitable for soft materials

Tapping mode

Tip vibrates (105 Hz) close to

Amplitude
specimen surface (50-150 )
with amplitude 10-100 nm

May at times lightly contact surface

Tip height

When near or on surface,

oscillation is damped - tip z
position corrected so that
vibration amplitude stays
constant
From force-distance plot, can get:
range & magnitude of attractive & repulsive forces
elastic modulus & adhesion energy
 Atomic Force Microscope in Solution
mirror
laser beam
photodiode
fluid cell
SPM tip
fluid in fluid out
tipholder
sample O-ring

piezo
translator sample
x,y,z piezo translator
motor
control

in air and in buffer solutions

 Topography
Contact Mode
High resolution
Damage to sample
Can measure frictional forces
Non-Contact Mode
Lower resolution
No damage to sample
Tapping Mode
Better resolution
Minimal damage to sample

2.5 x 2.5 nm simultaneous topographic and friction image

of highly oriented pyrolytic graphic (HOPG). The bumps
represent the topographic atomic corrugation, while the
coloring reflects the lateral forces on the tip. The scan
direction was right to left
SEM image of Hexagonally ZnO nanorod
Movement of the AFM tip along the sample

AFM tip

superhelical DNA plasmid

path of AFM tip

DNA double helix

Mg2+ Mg2+ Mg2+ Mg2+ Mg2+ Mg2+

Negatively charged mica surface

AFM image of a 6.8 kb superhelical plasmid

AFM tip
 AFM image of a nucleosome on a 614 base pair DNA
2 m x 2 m overview scan

zoom of mononucleosome complexes

Kepert, F., Fejes Tth, K.,

Caudron, M., Mcke, N.,
Langowski, J. & Rippe,
K., manuscript in
preparation
 AFM image of a nucleosome on a 614 base pair DNA
2 m x 2 m overview scan

Zoom of mononucleosome complexes

Kepert, F., Fejes Tth, K.,

Caudron, M., Mcke, N.,
Langowski, J. & Rippe,
K., manuscript in
preparation
DNA entry-exit angle of nucleosomes
60
160

140 50

120
40
100

80 30

60 20
40
10
20

0 0
70
60
60
50
50
40
40
30
30

20 20

10 10

0 0

DNA entry-exit angle DNA entry-exit angle

Movement of a 600 bp DNA fragment by AFM
Different levels of chromatin packing

A D 300nmnm
22nm
nm 300

B 11 nm
11 nm E
700 nm
700 nm

C F
30 nm
30 nm 1400 nm
1400 nm
Chromatin structure
400 nm x 400 nm
Other interesting work
Molecule that contributes to the
mechanical properties, especially the
elasticity of the cells
C-terminal

Measurement of its mechanical

Helix C stability provides information about
Helix A the physiological function
Helix B

N-terminal

Spectrin
 Stretching spectrin with an AFM tip
4 repeated spectrin
domain
cantilever tip
surface

1. Adhesion force between

cantilever tip and surface

2. Dissociation from the folded

state to the intermediate
unfolded state

3. Dissociation from the

force

intermediate to the total

1 2 3 unfolding state

distance
 Stretching spectrin with an AFM

100
force (pN)

80
60
40
20
0 0.20
-20
0 20 40 60 80 0.15
distance (nm)

probability
0.10

0.05

0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50
unfolding force (pN)
A 'new' view of structure (1986)

CD stamper AlGaN/GaN quantum well waveguide

Surface atoms on Si single crystal

See Vocabulary of Surface

Polymer growth
Crystallography, Journal of Applied Physics
35, 1306 (1964), by Elizabeth A. Wood
SEM image versus AFM image

Surface morphology at the 5 m 5 m scale of ZnO nanorod samples grown on GaN

templates (a) 3D view and (b) top view with line analysis information. The image was acquired
using high aspect ratio tip probes at 0.15 Hz with 256 x 256 pixel resolution.

Scanning Electron Microscopy

(SEM) images of the ZnO
nanorod sample shown in
Figures 3 (courtesy of Bell Labs,
Lucent Technologies). Image
magnification is 15,000x for
figure (a) and 30,000x for figure
(b), respectively. A 45 degrees
sample tilt was employed.
 Tapping and
non contact

Surface morphology at the 20 m scale of two different patterned sapphire

substrate samples (a) smooth dome surfaces and clean areas between domes
and (b) both dome top surfaces and areas between domes show damage and/or
residue. Images were acquired with an XE-150 AFM instrument in True Non-
Contact mode at 0.2 Hz with 256 pixel resolution.
 Tapping and
non contact

Surface morphology at the 20 m scale of two different patterned sapphire

substrate samples (a) smooth dome surfaces and clean areas between domes
and (b) both dome top surfaces and areas between domes show damage and/or
residue. Images were acquired with an XE-150 AFM instrument in True Non-
Contact mode at 0.2 Hz with 256 pixel resolution.
Surface morphology at the 20 m scale of the same two patterned sapphire substrate
samples shown in Figure 2. The images show (a) asymmetrical features (somewhat
elongated along the slow axis scan) with clean areas between the features and (b)
asymmetrical shape features displaying damage and/or residue in the areas in between.
These images were acquired with a conventional piezoelectric tube scanner instrument in
tapping mode at 1.0 Hz and 512 256 pixel resolution. Tapping and
non contact
Surface morphology at the 20 m scale of the same two patterned sapphire substrate samples
shown in Figure 2. The images show (a) asymmetrical features (somewhat elongated along the
slow axis scan) with clean areas between the features and (b) asymmetrical shape features
displaying damage and/or residue in the areas in between. These images were acquired with a
conventional piezoelectric tube scanner instrument in tapping mode at 1.0 Hz and 512 256
Tapping and
pixel resolution.
non contact
 AFM images of anodic aluminum oxide
membrane whose shape is hexagonal.
The scan size is (a) 500 nm, and (b) is the
3D rendered image. The holes of cylinder
are 50 nm (2 nm) in diameter, and are
around 100 nm (5 nm) from one another.
F. S. Bates et. al.,


Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 41, 525 (1990

AFM images of Co/Pt nanodot array. The image

shows that the array is arranged in hexagonal
pattern locally. The scan sizes are (a) 2 m and
(b) 1 m, respectively. The dots are 18 nm (2
nm) in diameter, and are around 45 nm from
one another.
G. M. Whiteside et. al, Science 254, 1312
(1991).
 Graphene

Non contact AFM Contact AFM

Sample: Graphene on SiC Courtesy of : Georgia Institute
of Technology.
Image Conditions: True Non-Contact , Contact AFM

STM
Scan size (5x2.5 um)
Scan rate (1Hz)
Z servo gain (1)
Pixel (512 x 512)

System Requirement:
STM AFM: True Non-Contact and Contact Mode
STM: Decoupled XY closed loop Scanner
Flexure Guided Z scanner with fast Response (10kHz)
 (a) Hot floating tip writing WIS (for the
Weizmann Institute of Science) on
AZ4620 photoresist film. The writing
speed was 50 nm/sec at tip-sample gap 3
( 2 nm and the average laser power was
3 105 W/cm2. (b) Direct mechanical
scratching of the same polymer with an
identical cold tip. Profiles c and e
correspond to the red cross-section lines
in panels a and b; images d and f are the
magnified line intersections in panels a
and b, respectively.

A Big Buck pattern made in a silicon substrate

using bias mode XEL Nanolithography. The
pattern is made on a silicon surface using the
Raster scan mode.
Dr. Roto,M.Eng.
research group
Dr. Roto,M.Eng.
research group