scanning probe microscopy
abbr., SPM
(rus. микроскопия, зондовая сканирующая abbr., СЗМ)
— a branch of microscopy that forms images of surfaces using a probe that scans a specimen. An image of the surface is obtained by mechanically moving the probe in a raster scan of the specimen, line by line, and recording the probe-surface interaction as a function of the probe's position (coordinates).
Description
Rapid growth of scanning probe microscopy applications followed the invention of a scanning tunnelling microscope in 1981. Today, different types of SPM may have resolutions ranging from the sub-micron to the atomic level. This is largely due to the ability of piezoelectric actuators to execute high-precision motions with an accuracy of less than one nanometre.
Scanning probe microscopes can image several interactions simultaneously. The manner of using these interactions to obtain an image is called a mode of a microscope.
The types of scanning probe microscopy are as follows:
• Atomic Force Microscopy, AFM;
• Ballistic Electron Emission Microscopy, BEEM;
• Magnetic Force Microscopy, MFM;
• Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy, MRFM; Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy, KPFM;
• Force Modulation Microscopy, FMM;
• Electrostatic Force Microscopy, EFM;
• Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy, NSOM, or Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy, SNOM; Scanning Capacitance Microscopy, SCM;
• Scanning Hall Probe Microscopy, SHPM;
• Scanning Ion-Conductance Microscopy, SICM;
• Scanning Voltage Microscopy, SVM;
• Scanning Thermal Microscopy, SThM;
• Scanning tunnelling Microscopy, STM;
• Spin Polarised Scanning tunnelling Microscopy, SPSTM;
• Photon Scanning tunnelling Microscopy, PSTM;
• Electrochemical Scanning tunnelling Microscopy, ESTM.
Atomic force and scanning tunnelling microscopy, as well as magnetic force and near-field scanning optical microscopy, are the most commonly used SPM techniques.
The main advantages of scanning probe microscopy are as follows:
- High locality due to the probe-surface interaction;
- The probe may be used to modify the structure of a sample’s surface;
- The probe can be used in vacuum, in air and in liquid environments.
The main disadvantages of SPM are:
- Microscopy results depend largely on the shape and nature of the probe;
- Slow scanning techniques due to mechanical scanning process;
- Distortion of lateral spacings and angles as a result of temperature drift, inconsistent operation of piezoceramic element and the fact that data from different raster segments are obtained at different time periods.
Scanning probe microscopes can image several interactions simultaneously. The manner of using these interactions to obtain an image is called a mode of a microscope.
The types of scanning probe microscopy are as follows:
• Atomic Force Microscopy, AFM;
• Ballistic Electron Emission Microscopy, BEEM;
• Magnetic Force Microscopy, MFM;
• Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy, MRFM; Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy, KPFM;
• Force Modulation Microscopy, FMM;
• Electrostatic Force Microscopy, EFM;
• Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy, NSOM, or Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy, SNOM; Scanning Capacitance Microscopy, SCM;
• Scanning Hall Probe Microscopy, SHPM;
• Scanning Ion-Conductance Microscopy, SICM;
• Scanning Voltage Microscopy, SVM;
• Scanning Thermal Microscopy, SThM;
• Scanning tunnelling Microscopy, STM;
• Spin Polarised Scanning tunnelling Microscopy, SPSTM;
• Photon Scanning tunnelling Microscopy, PSTM;
• Electrochemical Scanning tunnelling Microscopy, ESTM.
Atomic force and scanning tunnelling microscopy, as well as magnetic force and near-field scanning optical microscopy, are the most commonly used SPM techniques.
The main advantages of scanning probe microscopy are as follows:
- High locality due to the probe-surface interaction;
- The probe may be used to modify the structure of a sample’s surface;
- The probe can be used in vacuum, in air and in liquid environments.
The main disadvantages of SPM are:
- Microscopy results depend largely on the shape and nature of the probe;
- Slow scanning techniques due to mechanical scanning process;
- Distortion of lateral spacings and angles as a result of temperature drift, inconsistent operation of piezoceramic element and the fact that data from different raster segments are obtained at different time periods.
Authors
- Zotov Andrey V.
- Saranin Alexander A.
Sources
- Oura K. et al. Surface Science: An Introduction // Springer, 2010 - 452 pp.
- Meyer E. et al. Scanning Probe Microscopy: The Lab on a Tip. — Berlin–Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 2003. — 210 p.