Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

A scanning probe microscope (SPM) is a system commonly used in Nanotechnology research to study the properties of surfaces and interfaces at the atomic and molecular scale. Since its invention, the SPM has undergone a series of transformations that continuously improved its reliability and applicability. In particular, adding modulation capability allows for a considerable increase in the diversity of systems to be probed. A typical SPM system is composed of a "microscope" and a "controller". The microscope contains a "tool" used to probe the sample (typically a sharp tip), an electric/mechanical device able to control both the position of the tip with respect to the sample (usually a piezoelectric scanner) and a system that controls the interaction between tip and sample. The controller is a set of electronic modules that generate the signals necessary for the operation of the microscope, and can be regarded as an interface between the user and the experiment. Thus the whole versatility of the SPM system depends on the capabilities offered by the controller. In the SPM Lab at INRS, the JEOL 4500 UHV-STM/AFM/SEM system is an SPM equipped with an SEM column that allows in situ visualization of the tip in interaction zone with the sample under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Unfortunately the experience of JEOL in the fabrication of SPM systems is relatively new and their SPM controller lacks the versatility offered by other manufacturers. In particular, RHK Technology and Nanonis (recently acquired by SPECS) offer SPM controllers that are highly versatile (advertised as "future-proof"), leaving the user to truly control every parameter that governs SPM operation.