What is a Scanning Probe Microscope

2007-03-08 10:33:40

( Technology )



A scanning probe microscope can be used to image, examine and manipulate a sample specimen at exceedingly small proportions, that even atoms and molecules can be seen over this type of microscope. A scanning probe microscope unlike a conventional microscope does not use any lenses; instead, an instrument called a probe is used to view any samples.

Since the invention of the scanning probe microscope in 1981, a number of other types of probe microscopes were developed from this and branched out from the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope. These include the atomic force microscope, electrostatic force microscope, force modulation microscope, kelvin probe force microscope, magnetic force microscope, magnetic resonance force microscope, near-field scanning optical microscope, scanning capacitance microscope, scanning gate microscope and scanning voltage microscope.

Of these, the most common scanning probe microscope techniques are:

An Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) is used to study specimens of natural surface topography, surface chemistry, silicon wafers, data storage media, ceramics, polymer surfaces, DNA, plant cell walls, muscle proteins, natural resins, gums, cell and membrane surfaces, diffraction gratings, integrated circuits, bacterial flagella, DNA and other biological specimens and non-conductors.

A Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) operates on the electrical conductivity of the sample so that the sample can be viewed. A three dimensional image of a sample can be viewed using a probe that scans the surface of the sample within a fixed distance from the sample. The probe moves line by line so that one can view the structure of an atom.

The Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscope (NSOM) analyzes the surface of a specimen using a small source of light energy. Light passes through its aperture and lights up the sample that is to be viewed. You can obtain a better resolution on your sample than using a conventional microscope.

Today probe microscopy has become so common that types of scanning probe microscopes can be found in many physics, chemistry and biology laboratories and are used for analysis and research.


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