SK2740 Introduction to Scanning Probe Microscopy

A degree in mathematics, physics, chemistry or material science at the bachelor level.

The course is designed for students from a wide variety of educational backgrounds, from Physics, Chemistry and Biology, who would like to learn about the technical details of how SPM's work, and the possibilities and pitfalls in interpreting the images that SPM's produce. We will look in detail at some of the many different modes of SPM usage, with particular emphasis on Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and its many variations.

• SPM overview
• Scanners, Sensors, Feedback and Control
• Cantilevers and Tips, Force Measurements
• Fluctuations, Noise and Fundamental Limits
• Surface Forces, Adhesion and Friction
• AFM Colloidal Probe Technique
• Nonlinear Cantilever Dynamics
• SPM Application in Industry

The objective is to offer students an opportunity to learn the theory of operation of scanning probe microscopes, and to gain hands-on understanding of scanning probe microscope operation, with particular emphasis on the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). To teach the fundamental physical principals behind the two basic modes of AFM, as well as to give a survey of the many variations of these two modes used in specialized measurment methods. Armed with this understanding and intuition, students should be able to:

• better interpret the images produced by the AFM and the measurements made by AFM that they encounter in the research literature
• finish with a deeper understanding of AFM and become more knowledgible users of the instrument.