AFM

Atomic Force Microscopy

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Outline
• Motivation
• History
• How the AFM works
– Two modes
– Contact Mode
– Non-Contact Mode
– Force Measurements
– Raster the Tip: Generating an Image
– Scanning Sample
• OUr AFM
– Pictures
• Examples
– The Good
– The Bad
– And the Ugly
• Uses
– Topographical Analysis
– Thin Layer Depth
– RMS Roughness Calculations
• Other types of Microscopy

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Motivation
• Digitally image a topographical surface
• Determine the roughness of a surface sample or
to measure the thickness of a crystal growth
layer
• Image non-conducting surfaces such as proteins
and DNA
• Study the dynamic behavior of living and fixed
cells

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 History
• The Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) was
invented by G. Binnig and H. Rohrer, for which
they were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1984
• A few years later, the first Atomic Force
Microscope (AFM) was developed by G. Binnig,
Ch. Gerber, and C. Quate at Stanford University
by gluing a tiny shard of diamond onto one end
of a tiny strip of gold foil
• Currently AFM is the most common form of
scanning probe microscopy

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 How the AFM Works
• The AFM brings a probe
in close proximity to the
surface
• The force is detected by
the deflection of a spring,
van der Waals force curve
usually a cantilever
(diving board)
• Forces between the
probe tip and the sample
are sensed to control the
distance between the the
tip and the sample.

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Two Modes
Repulsive (contact)
• At short probe-sample
distances, the forces are
repulsive
Attractive Force (non-contact)
• At large probe-sample
distances, the forces are
attractive
The AFM cantelever can be used
to measure both attractive
force mode and repulsive
forces.

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Non-Contact Mode
• Uses attractive forces to
interact surface with tip
• Operates within the
van der Waal radii of the
atoms
• Oscillates cantilever near
its resonant frequency
(~ 200 kHz) to improve
sensitivity
• Advantages over contact:
no lateral forces,
non-destructive/no
contamination to sample, van der Waals force curve
etc.

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Contact Mode
• Contact mode operates in
the repulsive regime of
the van der Waals curve
• Tip attached to cantilever
with low spring constant
(lower than effective
spring constant binding
the atoms of the sample
together).
• In ambient conditions
there is also a capillary
force exerted by the thin
water layer present
(2-50 nm thick). van der Waals force curve

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Force Measurement
• The cantilever is designed with
a very low spring constant (easy
to bend) so it is very sensitive to
force.

• The laser is focused to reflect off

the cantilever and onto the
sensor

• The position of the beam in the

sensor measures the deflection
of the cantilever and in turn the
force between the tip and the
sample.

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Raster the Tip: Generating an Image
• The tip passes back and forth in
a straight line across the sample
Scanning Tip

(think old typewriter or CRT)

• In the typical imaging mode, the
tip-sample force is held constant
by adjusting the vertical position
of the tip (feedback).
Raster Motion

• A topographic image is built up

by the computer by recording the
vertical position as the tip is
rastered across the sample.

Top Image Courtesy of Nanodevices, Inc. (www.nanodevices.com)

Bottom Image Courtesy of Stefanie Roes
OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson (www.fz-borstel.de/biophysik/ de/methods/afm.html)
 Scanning the Sample
• Tip brought within nanometers
of the sample (van der Waals)
 Radius of tip limits the
accuracy of analysis/
resolution
 Stiffer cantilevers protect
against sample damage
because they deflect less in
response to a small force
 This means a more sensitive
detection scheme is needed
 measure change in resonance
frequency and amplitude of
oscillation

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson Image courtesy of (www.pacificnanotech.com)

 OUr AFM
We have a commercial Topometrix Explorer AFM.

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Some of Our Pictures
2D topographical image of
Atomic Step 3D Image

Screw dislocations on InSb grown by MBE

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 The Good Examples

Carbon Nanotube Used as a Conducting

AFM Tip for Local Oxidation of Si.
View of Silicon Surface Reconstruction

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson Right Image Courtesy of Dai, et al. from Stanford
 The Bad Examples
Histogram shows level surface, but Typically the sample will have a slight tilt
scan is very streaky with respect to the AFM. The AFM can
compensate for this tilt.

The horizontal lines are due to tip hops –

where the tip picks up or loses a small In this image the tilt have not yet
“nanodust” been removed.
OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson
 And the Ugly!

Teeny little dust mites, ultra tiny dust mites

about 2,000 in the average bed

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson Image courtesy of http://www.micropix.demon.co.uk/sem/dustmite/article/page_2.htm

 Topography Scanning
Example of generated
image upon scanning
Pd thermally evaporated on Si

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Elimination of Extreme Points

This targets the highest points of the

sample and eliminates them
It then manipulates the image to
create a smaller dynamic depth

Centering on pt.

extreme
(Height)

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 A Better View

Now:
• Removed extreme points
• Digitally decreased the
height of analysis
• Less than 1/3 as high
as initial scan
•Lose resolution and data
by clipping off extreme
points

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Thickness of a Thin Layer
of Pd on Si Wafer
Si/Pd step

Step (where Pd coating ends)

Systematic error

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Surface Roughness

Roughness typically measured

as root mean squared (RMS)

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Other Types of SPM Techniques
• Lateral Force Microscopy (LFM)
– Frictional forces measured by twisting or “sideways” forces on
cantilever.
• Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM)
– Magnetic tip detects magnetic fields/measures magnetic properties
of the sample.
• Electrostatic Force Microscopy (EFM)
– Electrically charged Pt tip detects electric fields/measures dielectric
and electrostatic properties of the sample
• Chemical Force Microscopy (CFM)
– Chemically functionalized tip can interact with molecules on the
surface – giving info on bond strengths, etc.
• Near Field Scanning Optical Microscopy (NSOM)
– Optical technique in which a very small aperture is scanned very
close to sample
– Probe is a quartz fiber pulled to a sharp point and coated with
aluminum to give a sub-wavelength aperture (~100 nm)

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 SPM techniques (NT-MDT)
visit these links for animations
STM modes
constant current
constant height

AFM modes
contact
non-contact

SPM lithography
STM lithography
AFM lithography – scratching
AFM lithography – Dynamic Plowing

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Carbon Nanotube Tips
 Well defined shape and composition.
 High aspect ratio and small radius of curvature (“perfect” tip would be a delta
function tip).
 Mechanically robust.
 Chemical functionalization at tip.
DNA
CNT Tips

Images taken from Nanodevices, Inc. (www.nanodevices.com)

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson and Wooley, et al., Nature Biotech. 18, 760
 SPM Lithography
 STM can move atoms around on a surface.

Iron on Copper Iron on Copper

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson Eigler, et al. from IBM

 SPM Lithography
 Dip Pen Lithography.

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson Mirkin, et al. from Northwestern University

 SPM Lithography
 Electrochemistry: carbon nanotube used as a conducting AFM tip for local
oxidation of Si.

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson Dai, et al. from Stanford

 Million Cantilever Wafer

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Millipede Memory

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Millipede Memory

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Cantilever Gas Sensors (Noses)

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson

 Cantilever Gas Sensors (Noses)

OU NanoLab/NSF NUE/Bumm & Johnson