7500 AFM

Keysight 7500 AFM

System Overview

The Keysight Technologies, Inc. 7500 AFM establishes new performance, functionality, and ease-of-use benchmarks for nanoscale measurement, characterization, and manipulation. This next-generation system extends the forefront of atomic force microscopy, offering a large, closed-loop AFM scanner with atomic resolution, industry-leading environmental control, ultra-high-precision temperature control, an unrivaled range of electrochemistry capabilities, and much more.

The clever, compact design of the 7500 gives researchers quick, convenient access to their samples. A half-dozen of the most used AFM imaging modes are supported by the system’s standard nose cone, which can easily be interchanged with specialized nose cones as needed, extending the 7500’s capabilities effortlessly.

Furthermore, a newly introduced 7500 STM scanner now provides guaranteed atomic-resolution imaging of various conducting surfaces, and a new inverted light microscope (ILM) system combines the power of the high-resolution 7500 atomic force microscope with the direct optical viewing capability of an inverted optical microscope.

Whether serving academia or industry, the Keysight 7500 is the new gold standard for advanced AFM applications in the fields of electrochemistry, life science, materials science, polymer science, electrical characterization, and nanolithography.

Features and Benefits

– Atomic-resolution imaging with closed-loop 90 μm AFM scanner

– Exceptional environmental and temperature control

– Standard nose cone supports expanded set of imaging modes

– Superior scanning in fluids, gases, and ambient conditions

– Single-pass nanoscale electrical characterization

– Unprecedented electrochemistry (EC) capabilities

– New STM scanner for studies of conducting materials

– New ILM system for simultaneous AFM/optical imaging

Additional Capabilities

– Materials science

– Life science

– Polymer science

– Electrochemistry

– Electrical characterization

– Nanolithography

New Design Advantages: AFM and STM

The 7500 offers stable AFM imaging combined with exceptionally flat, easily reproducible displacement over the entire scan range to deliver high resolution and very low distortion. Keysight’s patented top-down tip scanner technology is ideal for imaging in fluids and in air as well as under controlled temperature and environmental conditions.

The AFM scanner’s standard nose cone enables the use of contact mode, AAC mode, current-sensing AFM (CS-AFM), EFM, KFM, MFM, and MAC Mode in fluids and in air. Easy-to-load nose cones for additional AFM techniques, such as Top MAC Mode and DLFM, can be interchanged quickly and conveniently. Agilent nose cones are made from PEEK polymers, have low chemical reactivity, and can be used in a wide range of solvents. A stainless steel nose cone is available for fluorescence work.

The system’s video optics include a color camera and can resolve details to less than 1.7 μm. Open access to the scanner and easy alignment of the optics help simplify use of the 7500. The user-friendly scanner has a built-in detector, no cables to plug-in, and is easy to calibrate.

A new STM scanner is also now available for use with the 7500 AFM platform. Scanning tunneling microscopy is a technique that takes advantage of the extreme distance sensitivity of the tunneling current between two conducting electrodes to measure tunnel-current variations as a probe is scanned over a sample’s surface.

The 7500 STM scanner delivers outstanding results on a variety of conducting materials in ambient, controlled gas, and fluid environments. Preamplifier modules extend its effective range; the low-current and ultra-low-current STM scanner provides stable imaging at pico-ampere and sub-pico-ampere currents to resolve individual atoms and molecules.

Environmental and Temperature Control

The 7500 AFM system includes a built-in environmental chamber engineered to meet the many requirements of intricate, demanding nanoscience applications. The chamber provides an easily accessible, sealed sample compartment that is completely isolated from the rest of the system. Six inlet/outlet ports permit the flow of different gases into or out of the sample area.

The system’s scanner resides outside the environmental chamber, so it is protected from contamination, harsh gases, solvents, caustic liquids, and other potentially damaging environments. Humidity levels are monitored by sensors built into the chamber. Oxygen and reactive gases can be introduced into and purged from the sample chamber.

Robust, easy-to-handle sample plates designed specifically for use with the 7500 are offered to facilitate studies in air, in fluids, or with electrochemistry. The system’s standard sample plate can be utilized for many imaging modes and is configurable with a fluid cell. Special heating and cooling plates offer a total range of -40 °C up to 250 °C. Sample plates for Top MAC Mode are also available

Keysight’s temperature control system employs a patented thermal insulation and compensation design to deliver the industry’s most precise temperature control. This highly versatile option allows imaging during temperature changes and is fully compatible with all imaging modes, including those utilized in fluids. The temperature controller’s unique design isolates the sample plate from the rest of the system, improving stability and performance. Temperatures can be controlled from -40 ° C up to 250 °C, with suitable resolution and control to match any experimental requirements.