AFM upkeep
To keep the AFM running smoothly a number of things must be done.
Tip supplies
For topographical imaging we use 40 N/m Si tips with an aluminum reflex coating (to increase the reflection of the diode laser and increase our signal/noise ratio). We have been buying Tap300Al-G from BudgetSensors. We buy by the wafer, but only keep 10-15 tips in our community gel pack. Tips will need to be replaced from the wafer as they are used, and every month or two the gel pack needs to be replaced as it becomes dirty with 'silicon dust'.
Electrical applications
For electrical applications we use metal coated tips.
Gold tips are useful for making good electrical contact to microchip electronics such as nanotubes. However, gold is soft at the coating tends to rub off quickly during AC mode imaging. To minimize this image in attractive mode before doing electrical probing. Another drawback of gold is that you can sometimes deposit gold on your surface if you apply a negative bias to the tip.
Platinum-coated tips may also be used. The platinum coating is more robust than gold, so these tips can easily image in repulsive AC mode. These tips are also useful for more aggressive electrical chores such as charge writing or cutting and nicking CNTs.
Software
Useful software is stored on the T drive under T:\Physics\Minot Group\Software\MFP-3D software\
Software updates
Asylum fixes bugs and adds new features to the AFM software. Every few months the software should be upgraded to the latest version.
-
Log in with our account
Go
here to get their latest stable code
The download might be in .zip format. If so, unzip it by right-clicking and choosing 'extract'
Once you get the .exe file run it and follow the directions
Creating a template
Once a new version is installed, it's a service to the group to prepare a template that everyone will run. Here is the common procedure for preparing the template file:
Open the Asylum software
Change the default save path to T:\Physics\Minot Group\
Ensure the default operation is AC mode
Turn off the ARgyle-style displays
Turn off save flattening
Go to the Master Channel Panel
Go to the 'Height' tab
In the 'Image Modification' section, choose 'none' in the 'Saved' drop-down menu
Turn off saving z-sensor data
Ensure you're in AC Mode (see above)
Go to the Master Channel Panel
Go to the 'ZSensor' tab
Select 'off' in the 'Input' drop-down menu
Enable high-resolution data along the fast scan direction
Go to the Master Panel
Click the 'Setup' buttom at the bottom
Uncheck the 'Show?' check box next to 'Points & Lines'
Check the 'Show?' check box next to 'Points'
Check the 'Show?' check box next to 'Lines'
Click the 'Looks good' button at the bottom
Change the 'Scan Points' box to 1024
Make any other changes you want to see in the software
Save the new template file, and prevent others from changing it
Click 'File' → 'Save experiment as…'
Save the experiment file in the Asylum folder using the .pxt format
Locate the file you just saved
Right-click on the file and choose 'properties'
Mark the check box next to 'Read Only'
Choose 'apply' then 'OK'
Make the new template file the one that opens from everyone's desktop
Right-click on the Asylum shortcut on your desktop, and choose 'properties'
In the 'target' box there are two files separated by quotes: “C:\Program Files (x86)\WaveMetrics\Igor Pro Folder\Igor.exe” “C:\Program Files (x86)\WaveMetrics\Igor Pro Folder\AsylumResearch\Code3D\MFP3D Template.pxt”
Change the second file to the location of your new template file
Choose 'apply' then 'OK'
Installing software on a new computer
It is useful to install the AFM software on other computers throughout the lab to help with offline data viewing and analysis.
ARgyle
ARgyle is small piece of software for visualizing AFM data in 3D. The software can be found here: T:\Physics\Minot Group\Software\MFP-3D software\ARgyleL_install.exe