Stand Alone AFM Head

Some applications of atomic force microscopes require that the microscope head be portable or in a "stand alone" configuration. Examples are:

1. When a large sample that cannot be cut up, such as a plate of glass, must be scanned with the AFM.
2. If the AFM must be used in combination with another instrument such as an inverted optical microscope for life sciences applications.

The AFM head that is used in the Pacific Nanotechnology products can be easily adapted to a "stand alone" configuration.

The PNI AFM scanner can be removed from the Nano-R™ or Nano-I™ microscopes with a few screws. The scanner can then be placed into a mounting bracket that has at least one motor for probe approach as well as some thumbscrews for controlling the probe/surface angle.

Most of the parts required for the "stand alone" AFM scanner are available commercially from Pacific Nanotechnology or other companies. You must have either a Nano-R™, Nano-I™ or Ptrak3™ AFM system to build the "stand alone" AFM head. Recommended parts for the "stand alone" scanner are:

Part	Recommendation	Comment
Z Thumb Screw	Newport Corporation
Horseshoe holder	PNI # 10-00084	PNI part must be modified
Z motor Assembly	PNI # 81-00307
Motor Interface Clamp		Design depends on motor
Connector (4 pin, 6 pin)

Building the "stand alone" scanner is relatively simple but does require access to a machine shop to build or modify the parts that support the AFM scanner.

Mechanics: You can purchase and modify a horseshoe holder from Pacific Nanotechnology. However, you can design your own horseshoe holder with a specific footprint for the motor and thumb screws. Next, mount the motor (requires an adapter if you use the Pacific Nanotechnology horseshoe) and thumb screws into the horseshoe.

Electronics: Connect the hall effect position sensors and motor leads to wires and connectors that plug into the stage interface board at the rear of the AFM microscope. Schematics for these parts are located in the user manual for the PNI stages.

Software: Using the X'pert™ mode software, select the correct direction for the Z approach motor.

Below is a picture of a stand-alone AFM head constructed using an AFM scanner from Pacific Nanotechnology. As you can see, once completed, the head can be placed on any surface.