AFM Atomic Force Hi Resolution Scanning Probe Microscope (ITT/515).

Descriptions

We invite tenders for a high resolution scanning probe microscope.The microscope will be used to acquire images of adsorbed layers of molecules and metal organic frameworks on inhomogeneous substrates such as graphene, gold and silicon dioxide. The imaging of surfaces of active regions of devices with areas on the order 1 micron is a complementary objective. The microscope should be operable in liquid or under ambient conditions and either include holders for variable temperature (0-100C) and electrochemical applications or have these available as retrofittable components.The microscope should complement our existing range of ambient SPMs, namely2 x Asylum Research MFP 3D,1 x Veeco Multimode AFM STM,2 x Agilent/Molecular Imaging STMsby enhancing the capability of our equipment pool in the following waysPrimary factor1increased resolution in non-contact mode AFM mode aiming for less than 1nm lateral resolution on adsorbed molecular filmsSecondary factors2ease of alignment using optical microscopy to specific sites on the sample. Reproducible placement accuracy of probe tip to within equivalent to tilde symbol 5microns of site of interest is acceptable, but a lower value would be preferable.3ease of operation and time taken to acquire high resolution images.4he facility for imaging the same area in STM and AFM modes with minimal disruption due to tip exchange.We stress that we require an enhancement in the capability of our instrument pool and that increase of capacity is not our aim. We will assess the performance of the new microscopes against our existing suite of instruments. A minimum requirement is that the new microscope demonstrates a significant increase of resolution in noncontact/tapping mode AFM using the test samples identified below. Tenders are welcome from companies who can meet a sub-set of the objectives identified above and will be considered in competition if a solution which solves all three objectives is not forthcoming. In this case AFM resolution will be used as the primary performance comparator.