Nanosensors (company)

Last updated
Nanosensors
Nanosensors logo.svg
Product type Nanotechnology
AFM probes
AFM tips
AFM cantilevers
Owner NanoWorld
Introduced1993
MarketsWorldwide
TaglineThe World Leader in Scanning Probes
Website www.nanosensors.com

Nanosensors Inc. is a company that manufactures probes for use in atomic force microscopes (AFM) and scanning probe microscopes (SPM). This private, for profit company was founded November 21, 2018. Nanosensors Inc. is located in Neuchatel, Switzerland.

Contents

History

Nanosensors was founded as "Nanoprobe" in 1990, [1] building on research conducted at IBM Sindelfingen on fundamental technologies required for the batch processing of silicon AFM probes using bulk micromachining.

In 1993, Nanosensors commercialized SPM and AFM probes worldwide. Their developments in batch processing technologies for producing AFM probes contributed to introducing Atomic Force Microscopes into the industry of the time. In recognition of this achievement, Nanosensors discerned the Dr.-Rudolf-Eberle Innovation Award of the German State of Baden-Württemberg [2] and the Innovation Prize of the German Industry [3] in 1995 and the Innovation Award of the Förderkreis für die Mikroelektronik e.V. [4] in 1999.

In 2002, Nanosensors was acquired by and integrated into Switzerland-based NanoWorld. It is still an independent business unit.

Significance

Researchers have developed an array of operating modes and methods for Scanning probe microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. The use and application of such methods requires SPM or AFM instruments equipped with method-specific SPM or AFM probes. Nanosensors supplies SPM or AFM users worldwide with a range of such method-specific SPM or AFM probes. [5]

Products

AFM Probe Series

PointProbePlus

The PointProbePlus series is directly based on the technology originally developed and commercialized by Nanosensors in 1993. The original PointProbe technology has been upgraded to the PointProbePlus technology in 2004 yielding a reduced variation of tip shape and increased reproducibility of images. It is manufactured from highly doped mono-crystalline silicon. The tip is pointing into the <100> crystal direction.

  • PointProbePlus XY-Alignment Series & Alignment Chip
  • PointProbePlus Silicon MFM Probe Series [6] [7]
  • SuperSharpSilicon [8] [9]
  • High Aspect Ratio AFM probes [10]

AdvancedTEC

The tip of the AdvancedTEC AFM probe series [11] protrudes from the end of the cantilever and is visible through the optical system of the atomic force microscope. This visibility from the top allows the operator of the microscope to position the tip of this AFM probe at the point of interest.

Applications

Accessories

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atomic force microscopy</span> Type of microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning force microscopy (SFM) is a very-high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the optical diffraction limit.

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is a branch of microscopy that forms images of surfaces using a physical probe that scans the specimen. SPM was founded in 1981, with the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope, an instrument for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. The first successful scanning tunneling microscope experiment was done by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer. The key to their success was using a feedback loop to regulate gap distance between the sample and the probe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnetic force microscope</span>

Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) is a variety of atomic force microscopy, in which a sharp magnetized tip scans a magnetic sample; the tip-sample magnetic interactions are detected and used to reconstruct the magnetic structure of the sample surface. Many kinds of magnetic interactions are measured by MFM, including magnetic dipole–dipole interaction. MFM scanning often uses non-contact AFM (NC-AFM) mode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelvin probe force microscope</span> Noncontact variant of atomic force microscopy

Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), also known as surface potential microscopy, is a noncontact variant of atomic force microscopy (AFM). By raster scanning in the x,y plane the work function of the sample can be locally mapped for correlation with sample features. When there is little or no magnification, this approach can be described as using a scanning Kelvin probe (SKP). These techniques are predominantly used to measure corrosion and coatings.

Nanotribology is the branch of tribology that studies friction, wear, adhesion and lubrication phenomena at the nanoscale, where atomic interactions and quantum effects are not negligible. The aim of this discipline is characterizing and modifying surfaces for both scientific and technological purposes.

Nanoindentation, also called instrumented indentation testing, is a variety of indentation hardness tests applied to small volumes. Indentation is perhaps the most commonly applied means of testing the mechanical properties of materials. The nanoindentation technique was developed in the mid-1970s to measure the hardness of small volumes of material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feature-oriented scanning</span>

Feature-oriented scanning (FOS) is a method of precision measurement of surface topography with a scanning probe microscope in which surface features (objects) are used as reference points for microscope probe attachment. With FOS method, by passing from one surface feature to another located nearby, the relative distance between the features and the feature neighborhood topographies are measured. This approach allows to scan an intended area of a surface by parts and then reconstruct the whole image from the obtained fragments. Beside the mentioned, it is acceptable to use another name for the method – object-oriented scanning (OOS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scanning thermal microscopy</span>

Scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) is a type of scanning probe microscopy that maps the local temperature and thermal conductivity of an interface. The probe in a scanning thermal microscope is sensitive to local temperatures – providing a nano-scale thermometer. Thermal measurements at the nanometer scale are of both scientific and industrial interest. The technique was invented by Clayton C. Williams and H. Kumar Wickramasinghe in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conductive atomic force microscopy</span> Method of measuring the microscopic topography of a material

In microscopy, conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) or current sensing atomic force microscopy (CS-AFM) is a mode in atomic force microscopy (AFM) that simultaneously measures the topography of a material and the electric current flow at the contact point of the tip with the surface of the sample. The topography is measured by detecting the deflection of the cantilever using an optical system, while the current is detected using a current-to-voltage preamplifier. The fact that the CAFM uses two different detection systems is a strong advantage compared to scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Basically, in STM the topography picture is constructed based on the current flowing between the tip and the sample. Therefore, when a portion of a sample is scanned with an STM, it is not possible to discern if the current fluctuations are related to a change in the topography or to a change in the sample conductivity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piezoresponse force microscopy</span> Microscopy technique for piezoelectric materials

Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) is a variant of atomic force microscopy (AFM) that allows imaging and manipulation of piezoelectric/ferroelectric materials domains. This is achieved by bringing a sharp conductive probe into contact with a ferroelectric surface and applying an alternating current (AC) bias to the probe tip in order to excite deformation of the sample through the converse piezoelectric effect (CPE). The resulting deflection of the probe cantilever is detected through standard split photodiode detector methods and then demodulated by use of a lock-in amplifier (LiA). In this way topography and ferroelectric domains can be imaged simultaneously with high resolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photoconductive atomic force microscopy</span> Type of atomic force microscopy

Photoconductive atomic force microscopy (PC-AFM) is a variant of atomic force microscopy that measures photoconductivity in addition to surface forces.

The technique of vibrational analysis with scanning probe microscopy allows probing vibrational properties of materials at the submicrometer scale, and even of individual molecules. This is accomplished by integrating scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and vibrational spectroscopy. This combination allows for much higher spatial resolution than can be achieved with conventional Raman/FTIR instrumentation. The technique is also nondestructive, requires non-extensive sample preparation, and provides more contrast such as intensity contrast, polarization contrast and wavelength contrast, as well as providing specific chemical information and topography images simultaneously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NanoWorld</span>

NanoWorld is the global market leader for tips for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The atomic force microscope (AFM) is the defining instrument for the whole field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. It enables its users in research and high-tech industry to investigate materials at the atomic scale. AFM probes are the key consumable, the “finger” that enables the scientist to scan surfaces point-by-point at the atomic scale. Consistent high quality of the scanning probes is vital for reproducible results.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NanoAndMore</span>

NanoAndMore is a distributor for AFM cantilevers from NanoWorld, Nanosensors, BudgetSensors, MikroMasch, Opus and nanotools, calibration standards and other products for nanotechnology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-contact atomic force microscopy</span>

Non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM), also known as dynamic force microscopy (DFM), is a mode of atomic force microscopy, which itself is a type of scanning probe microscopy. In nc-AFM a sharp probe is moved close to the surface under study, the probe is then raster scanned across the surface, the image is then constructed from the force interactions during the scan. The probe is connected to a resonator, usually a silicon cantilever or a quartz crystal resonator. During measurements the sensor is driven so that it oscillates. The force interactions are measured either by measuring the change in amplitude of the oscillation at a constant frequency just off resonance or by measuring the change in resonant frequency directly using a feedback circuit to always drive the sensor on resonance.

Nanoprobing is method of extracting device electrical parameters through the use of nanoscale tungsten wires, used primarily in the semiconductor industry. The characterization of individual devices is instrumental to engineers and integrated circuit designers during initial product development and debug. It is commonly utilized in device failure analysis laboratories to aid with yield enhancement, quality and reliability issues and customer returns. Commercially available nanoprobing systems are integrated into either a vacuum-based scanning electron microscope (SEM) or atomic force microscope (AFM). Nanoprobing systems that are based on AFM technology are referred to as Atomic Force nanoProbers (AFP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franz Josef Giessibl</span> German physicist

Franz Josef Gießibl is a German physicist and university professor at the University of Regensburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infrared Nanospectroscopy (AFM-IR)</span> Infrared microscopy technique

AFM-IR or infrared nanospectroscopy is one of a family of techniques that are derived from a combination of two parent instrumental techniques. AFM-IR combines the chemical analysis power of infrared spectroscopy and the high-spatial resolution of scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The term was first used to denote a method that combined a tuneable free electron laser with an atomic force microscope equipped with a sharp probe that measured the local absorption of infrared light by a sample with nanoscale spatial resolution.

A probe tip is an instrument used in scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) to scan the surface of a sample and make nano-scale images of surfaces and structures. The probe tip is mounted on the end of a cantilever and can be as sharp as a single atom. In microscopy, probe tip geometry and the composition of both the tip and the surface being probed directly affect resolution and imaging quality. Tip size and shape are extremely important in monitoring and detecting interactions between surfaces. SPMs can precisely measure electrostatic forces, magnetic forces, chemical bonding, Van der Waals forces, and capillary forces. SPMs can also reveal the morphology and topography of a surface.

Bimodal Atomic Force Microscopy is an advanced atomic force microscopy technique characterized by generating high-spatial resolution maps of material properties. Topography, deformation, elastic modulus, viscosity coefficient or magnetic field maps might be generated. Bimodal AFM is based on the simultaneous excitation and detection of two eigenmodes (resonances) of a force microscope microcantilever.

References

  1. ↑ "The History of NANOSENSORS™ - R&D Leaders in AFM Probes Since 1990". www.nanosensors.com. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  2. ↑ Dr.-Rudolf-Eberle-Preis – Innovationspreis des Landes Baden Württemberg, Auszeichungen, Preisträger 1995
  3. ↑ Innovationspreis der deutschen Wirtschaft, Erster Innovationspreis der Welt, Preisträger der Vorjahre, 1995
  4. ↑ Annual Innovation Award of the Förderkreis Mikroelektronik, Industrie- und Handelskammer Nürnberg für Mittelfranken
  5. ↑ Stevens, R. M. (2009). "New carbon nanotube AFM probe technology". Materials Today. 12 (10): 42–86. doi: 10.1016/S1369-7021(09)70276-7 .
  6. ↑ Scott, J.; McVitie, S.; Ferrier, R. P.; Gallagher, A. (2001). "Electrostatic charging artefacts in Lorentz electron tomography of MFM tip stray fields" (PDF). Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. 34 (9): 1326. Bibcode:2001JPhD...34.1326S. doi:10.1088/0022-3727/34/9/307.
  7. ↑ Pulwey, R.; Rahm, M.; Biberger, J.; Weiss, D. (2001). "Switching behavior of vortex structures in nanodisks". IEEE Transactions on Magnetics. 37 (4): 2076. Bibcode:2001ITM....37.2076P. doi:10.1109/20.951058.
  8. ↑ Xiaohui Tang; Bayot, V.; Reckinger, N.; Flandre, D.; Raskin, J. -P.; Dubois, E.; Nysten, B. (2009). "A Simple Method for Measuring Si-Fin Sidewall Roughness by AFM". IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology. 8 (5): 611. Bibcode:2009ITNan...8..611T. doi:10.1109/TNANO.2009.2021064. S2CID   22152956.
  9. ↑ Sobchenko, I.; Pesicka, J.; Baither, D.; Stracke, W.; Pretorius, T.; Chi, L.; Reichelt, R.; Nembach, E. (2007). "Atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of nanoscale plate-shaped second phase particles" (PDF). Philosophical Magazine. 87 (17): 2427. Bibcode:2007PMag...87.2427S. doi:10.1080/14786430701203184. S2CID   137216435.
  10. ↑ Juang, B. J.; Huang, K. Y.; Liao, H. S.; Leong, K. C.; Hwang, I. S. (2010). "AFM pickup head with holographic optical element (HOE)". 2010 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics. p. 442. doi:10.1109/AIM.2010.5695758. ISBN   978-1-4244-8031-9. S2CID   17204425.
  11. ↑ Bolopion, A.; Hui Xie; Haliyo, D. S.; Regnier, S. (2010). "3D haptic handling of microspheres". 2010 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (PDF). p. 6131. doi:10.1109/IROS.2010.5650443. ISBN   978-1-4244-6674-0. S2CID   14197333.
  12. ↑ Trumper, D. L.; Hocken, R. J.; Amin-Shahidi, D.; Ljubicic, D.; Overcash, J. (2011). "High-Accuracy Atomic Force Microscope". Control Technologies for Emerging Micro and Nanoscale Systems. Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences. Vol. 413. p. 17. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-22173-6_2. ISBN   978-3-642-22172-9.
  13. ↑ Nemesincze, P.; Osvath, Z.; Kamaras, K.; Biro, L. (2008). "Anomalies in thickness measurements of graphene and few layer graphite crystals by tapping mode atomic force microscopy". Carbon. 46 (11): 1435. arXiv: 0812.0690 . doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2008.06.022. S2CID   15528877.
  14. ↑ Haugstad, G.; Jones, R. R. (1999). "Mechanisms of dynamic force microscopy on polyvinyl alcohol: Region-specific non-contact and intermittent contact regimes". Ultramicroscopy. 76 (1–2): 77–86. doi:10.1016/S0304-3991(98)00073-4.
  15. ↑ Deleu, M. (2001). "Imaging mixed lipid monolayers by dynamic atomic force microscopy". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes. 1513 (1): 55–62. doi: 10.1016/S0005-2736(01)00337-6 . PMID   11427194.
  16. ↑ Kimura, K.; Kobayashi, K.; Yamada, H.; Horiuchi, T.; Ishida, K.; Matsushige, K. (2004). "Orientation control of ferroelectric polymer molecules using contact-mode AFM". European Polymer Journal. 40 (5): 933. doi:10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2004.01.015.
  17. ↑ Diesinger, H.; Deresmes, D.; Nys, J. -P.; Mélin, T. (2010). "Dynamic behavior of amplitude detection Kelvin force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum". Ultramicroscopy. 110 (2): 162–169. doi:10.1016/j.ultramic.2009.10.016. PMID   19939564.
  18. ↑ Luan, L.; Auslaender, O.; Bonn, D.; Liang, R.; Hardy, W.; Moler, K. (2009). "Magnetic force microscopy study of interlayer kinks in individual vortices in the underdoped cuprate superconductor YBa2Cu3O6+x". Physical Review B. 79 (21): 214530. arXiv: 0811.0584 . Bibcode:2009PhRvB..79u4530L. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.79.214530. S2CID   51760640.
  19. ↑ Nazaretski, E.; Thibodaux, J. P.; Vekhter, I.; Civale, L.; Thompson, J. D.; Movshovich, R. (2009). "Direct measurements of the penetration depth in a superconducting film using magnetic force microscopy". Applied Physics Letters. 95 (26): 262502. arXiv: 0909.1360 . Bibcode:2009ApPhL..95z2502N. doi:10.1063/1.3276563. S2CID   119111208.
  20. ↑ Lantz, M. A.; o’Shea, S. J.; Hoole, A. C. F.; Welland, M. E. (1997). "Lateral stiffness of the tip and tip-sample contact in frictional force microscopy". Applied Physics Letters. 70 (8): 970. Bibcode:1997ApPhL..70..970L. doi:10.1063/1.118476.
  21. ↑ Fraxedas, J.; Garcia-Manyes, S.; Gorostiza, P.; Sanz, F. (2002). "Nanoindentation: Toward the sensing of atomic interactions". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 99 (8): 5228–32. Bibcode:2002PNAS...99.5228F. doi: 10.1073/pnas.042106699 . PMC   122751 . PMID   16578871.
  22. ↑ Terán Arce, P. F. M.; Riera, G. A.; Gorostiza, P.; Sanz, F. (2000). "Atomic-layer expulsion in nanoindentations on an ionic single crystal". Applied Physics Letters. 77 (6): 839. Bibcode:2000ApPhL..77..839T. doi:10.1063/1.1306909.
  23. ↑ Stucklin, S.; Gullo, M. R.; Akiyama, T.; Scheidiger, M. (2008). "Atomic force microscopy for industry with the Akiyama-Probe sensor". 2008 International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. p. 79. doi:10.1109/ICONN.2008.4639250. ISBN   978-1-4244-1503-8. S2CID   23372086.
  24. ↑ Obrebski, J.W. (2010), Development of an Atomic Force Microscope (Master thesis)
  25. ↑ Guo, T.; Wang, S.; Dorantes-Gonzalez, D. J.; Chen, J.; Fu, X.; Hu, X. (2011). "Development of a Hybrid Atomic Force Microscopic Measurement System Combined with White Light Scanning Interferometry". Sensors. 12 (1): 175–188. Bibcode:2011Senso..12..175G. doi: 10.3390/s120100175 . PMC   3279207 . PMID   22368463.
  26. ↑ Holbery, J. D.; Eden, V. L.; Sarikaya, M.; Fisher, R. M. (2000). "Experimental determination of scanning probe microscope cantilever spring constants utilizing a nanoindentation apparatus". Review of Scientific Instruments. 71 (10): 3769. Bibcode:2000RScI...71.3769H. doi:10.1063/1.1289509.
  27. ↑ Boukallel, M.; Girot, M.; Regnier, S. (2008). "A robotic platform for targeted studies on biological cells". 2008 2nd IEEE RAS & EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics. p. 624. doi:10.1109/BIOROB.2008.4762926. ISBN   978-1-4244-2882-3. S2CID   14751744.
  28. ↑ Korpelainen, V.; Lassila, A. (2007). "Calibration of a commercial AFM: Traceability for a coordinate system". Measurement Science and Technology. 18 (2): 395. Bibcode:2007MeScT..18..395K. doi:10.1088/0957-0233/18/2/S11.
  29. ↑ Hwu, E. T.; Hung, S. K.; Yang, C. W.; Huang, K. Y.; Hwang, I. S. (2008). "Real-time detection of linear and angular displacements with a modified DVD optical head". Nanotechnology. 19 (11): 115501. Bibcode:2008Nanot..19k5501H. doi:10.1088/0957-4484/19/11/115501. PMID   21730551.
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