Tender for the Supply of an AFM-TERS System.

Descriptions

Microscopes. Please note that this is a contract award notice not a tender opportunity.Microscopes. The University of Exeter is looking to invest in expanding its Raman spectroscopy and scanning probe microscopy facilities. The new AFM-TERS system will be primarily used to support the work of Exeter--based researchers in Exeter-Bath Centre for Graphene Science (www.graphenecentre.ac.uk). The new equipment will specifically support a programme of work funded by the EPSRC under its 'Graphene Engineering' initiative (www.epsrc.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2013/Pages/graphene.aspx).For our proposed graphene experiments, the system will be used to provide a combination of lithographic, measurement and imaging tools. The motion of the tip over the graphene surface, its frequency, height, amplitude of vibration, and voltage with respect to the sample need to be finely controlled by the operator. Lithographic patterning of the graphene surface forms part of this work; therefore, we require the ability to define patterns in standard software such as AutoCAD (that we use for our other lithography work). We are particularly interested in the electrical properties of graphene, so require the system to have electrical AFM capabilities such as conductive-AFM, Kelvin probe, electrical force and scanning capacitance modes. Images in these modes need to be acquired simultaneously with the TERS data.An important aspect of our project will be maintaining a clean surface of the graphene. However, any processing of the graphene leaves residues on its surface. We have to clean the surface by annealing in temperatures above 100 °C in an inert gas or vacuum atmosphere for several hours before experiments can begin. To expose the sample to atmosphere before measurements is not desirable, so we require this annealing to be performed in situ. Therefore, the System must have the capacity to heat the sample, and to provide a controlled atmosphere (either a vacuum or inert gas) around the sample.We require an AFM-TERS System with two lasers that will be applicable for both graphene-based samples and biological/polymer ones. The system needs to work in reflection (samples are generally opaque).The system will be sited in a standard laboratory environment and will be operated by a number of users, including PhD students. Therefore, the system must be robust and not require a dedicated operator.