Russian Engineers Develop New Fully Automated Scanning Probe Microscope

Scanning probe microscopy approved itself the most effective technology for studying objects of nano-size and properties of surfaces with super-resolution. Today the field of nanotechnology generates tasks, which become more and more complicated, and that is why new requirements to involved hardware appear. Modern scanning probe microscopes are known to be extremely difficult to adjust - tuning process is very long and depends on a user. This leads to bad reproducibility of results.

Russian engineers developed new fully automated scanning probe microscope - SmartSPM, which allows following automatic manipulations: adjustment of detection system, taking the probe closer to a sample and setting scanning parameters. Improvements limit the time, which passes from switching the microscope to scanning start, to as little as five minutes. SmartSPM affords an opportunity of choosing the optimal site for the recording laser, as well as testing cantilever reflecting surface before the experiment starts.