News Feed from Review of Scientific Instruments

A high resolution scanning electron microscope for in situ investigation of swift heavy ion induced modification of solid surfaces

S. Amirthapandian, F. Schuchart, and W. Bolse
A new in situ high resolution electron microscope (HRSEM) setup has been designed and integrated into the materials science beamline (M-branch) of the universal linear accelerator at Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt for in situ investigations of swift heavy ion induced surface modifi ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 033702 (2010)] published Thu Mar 11, 2010.

Atomic force microscopy with a 12-electrode piezoelectric tube scanner

Yuen K. Yong, Bilal Ahmed, and S. O. Reza Moheimani
This paper presents a piezoelectric tube scanner with a novel electrode pattern and describes how it may be used for simultaneous sensing and actuation. The electrodes are arranged such that the tube is driven in an antisymmetrical manner, resulting in a collocated system suitable for positive posit ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 033701 (2010)] published Thu Mar 4, 2010.

Development, analysis and control of a high-speed laser-free atomic force microscope

Saeid Bashash, Reza Saeidpourazar, and Nader Jalili
This paper presents the development and control of a laser-free atomic force microscopy (AFM) system for high-speed imaging of micro- and nanostructured materials. The setup uses a self-sensing piezoresistive microcantilever with nanometer accuracy to abolish the need for a bulky and expensive laser ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 023707 (2010)] published Wed Feb 17, 2010.

Permanent magnet desktop magnetic resonance imaging system with microfabricated multiturn gradient coils for microflow imaging in capillary tubes

Ramin S. Sahebjavaher, Konrad Walus, and Boris Stoeber
A prototype for a desktop high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) velocimetry instrument to characterize flow fields in a capillary tube is demonstrated. This inexpensive compact system is achieved with a 0.6 T permanent magnetic configuration (Larmor frequency of 25 MHz) and temperature co ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 023706 (2010)] published Thu Feb 11, 2010.

Intermittent contact scanning nonlinear dielectric microscopy

Yoshiomi Hiranaga and Yasuo Cho
Intermittent contact scanning nonlinear dielectric microscopy (IC-SNDM) was developed as a novel technique for surface topography measurements and observation of domain structures. Domain structures on ferroelectric single crystals were observed with nanoscale resolution using IC-SNDM. The reproduci ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 023705 (2010)] published Mon Feb 8, 2010.

A compact multipurpose nanomanipulator for use inside a scanning electron microscope

E. C. Heeres, A. J. Katan, M. H. van Es, A. F. Beker, M. Hesselberth et al.
A compact, two-stage nanomanipulator was designed and built for use inside a scanning electron microscope. It consists of a fine stage employing piezostacks that provide a 15 [mu]m range in three dimensions and a coarse stage based on commercially available stick-slip motors. Besides the fabricatio ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 023704 (2010)] published Fri Feb 5, 2010.

A low noise all-fiber interferometer for high resolution frequency modulated atomic force microscopy imaging in liquids

Haider I. Rasool, Paul R. Wilkinson, Adam Z. Stieg, and James K. Gimzewski
We have developed a low noise all-fiber interferometer for use as the deflection sensor in liquid environment frequency modulated atomic force microscopy (FM-AFM). A detailed description and rationale for the choice of the critical components are provided along with the design of a simple alignment ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 023703 (2010)] published Tue Feb 2, 2010.

A new flexible scatterometer for critical dimension metrology

Matthias Wurm, Frank Pilarski, and Bernd Bodermann
At Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, the National Metrology Institute of Germany, a new type of deep ultraviolet scatterometer has been developed and set up. The concept of the system is very variable and versatile, so that many different types of measurements, e.g., classical scatterometry, el ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 023701 (2010)] published Tue Feb 2, 2010.

Automated coregistered imaging using a hand-held probe-based optical imager

Steven Regalado, Sarah J. Erickson, Banghe Zhu, Jiajia Ge, and Anuradha Godavarty
Near-infrared optical imaging holds a promise as a noninvasive technology toward cancer diagnostics and other tissue imaging applications. In recent years, hand-held based imagers are of great interest toward the clinical translation of the technology. However hand-held imagers developed to date are ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 023702 (2010)] published Tue Feb 2, 2010.

In situ manipulation of scanning tunneling microscope tips without tip holder

C. Raad, K. H. Graf, and Ph. Ebert
A design for a manipulator system for manipulating bare scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) tips without any tip holder is presented. The extremely stiff and rigid system consists of an ultrahigh vacuum compatible fully three-dimensionally movable gripper module driven by stepping motors and piezomo ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 013706 (2010)] published Mon Jan 25, 2010.

A bright and long-pulse illumination for ultrahigh-speed microscopy of living specimens

Hitoshi Nakano, Sayoko Yokoi, Shigeru Yoshida, Makoto Yamada, Takeshi Takeuchi et al.
Ultrahigh-speed microscopy of living specimens requires ultrabright illumination. Moreover, the duration of illumination should be sufficiently long, on the order of at least several tens of milliseconds, in order to investigate the dynamic state of living specimens. However, specimens are exposed t ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 013705 (2010)] published Wed Jan 20, 2010.

Microcontroller-driven fluid-injection system for atomic force microscopy

S. Kasas, L. Alonso, P. Jacquet, J. Adamcik, C. Haeberli et al.
We present a programmable microcontroller-driven injection system for the exchange of imaging medium during atomic force microscopy. Using this low-noise system, high-resolution imaging can be performed during this process of injection without disturbance. This latter circumstance was exemplified by ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 013704 (2010)] published Fri Jan 15, 2010.

Single crystal diamond tips for scanning probe microscopy

Alexander N. Obraztsov, Petr G. Kopylov, Boris A. Loginov, Mathew A. Dolganov, Rinat R. Ismagilov et al.
Single crystal diamond tips with perfect pyramidal geometry were obtained by a combination of chemical vapor deposition and selective oxidation of polycrystalline films. The parameters of the deposition process were chosen to provide growth of a textured film consisting of micrometer sized diamond c ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 013703 (2010)] published Thu Jan 14, 2010.

Microcantilever sensors for monitoring the evaporation of microdrops of pure liquids and mixtures

Chuanjun Liu and Elmar Bonaccurso
We describe in detail a nonimaging technique that allows the measurement of the mass, the radius, and the contact angle of evaporating sessile microdrops of pure liquids and binary mixtures. The microdrops were deposited onto hydrophobized silicon microcantilevers whose bending and resonance frequen ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 013702 (2010)] published Mon Jan 11, 2010.

High-sensitive scanning laser magneto-optical imaging system

Hironaru Murakami and Masayoshi Tonouchi
A high-sensitive scanning laser magneto-optical (MO) imaging system has been developed. The system is mainly composed of a laser source, galvano meters, and a high-sensitive differential optical-detector. Preliminary evaluation of system performance by using a Faraday indicator with a Faraday rotati ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 013701 (2010)] published Mon Jan 4, 2010.

Simple and efficient scanning tunneling luminescence detection at low-temperature

J. G. Keizer, J. K. Garleff, and P. M. Koenraad
We have designed and built an optical system to collect light that is generated in the tunneling region of a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The optical system consists of an in situ lens placed approximately 1.5 cm from the tunneling region and an ex situ optical lens system to analy ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 80, 123704 (2009)] published Mon Dec 28, 2009.

Photoemission electron microscopy using extreme ultraviolet attosecond pulse trains

A. Mikkelsen, J. Schwenke, T. Fordell, G. Luo, K. Klunder et al.
We report the first experiments carried out on a new imaging setup, which combines the high spatial resolution of a photoemission electron microscope (PEEM) with the temporal resolution of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) attosecond pulse trains. The very short pulses were provided by high-harmonic generat ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 80, 123703 (2009)] published Fri Dec 11, 2009.

A benchtop, ultrafast infrared spectroscopic imaging system for biomedical applications

Hemmel Amrania, Andrew McCrow, and Chris Phillips
We discuss the potential biomedical applications for a novel infrared spectroscopic microimaging system. A tunable, table top solid-state laser has been coupled to a commercial infrared microscope, fitted with a modified high resolution infrared camera, to create a unique tool for midinfrared imagin ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 80, 123702 (2009)] published Mon Dec 7, 2009.

Antiproton, positron, and electron imaging with a microchannel plate/phosphor detector

ALPHA Collaboration, G. B. Andresen, W. Bertsche, P. D. Bowe, C. C. Bray et al.
A microchannel plate (MCP)/phosphor screen assembly has been used to destructively measure the radial profile of cold, confined antiprotons, electrons, and positrons in the ALPHA experiment, with the goal of using these trapped particles for antihydrogen creation and confinement. The response of the ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 80, 123701 (2009)] published Tue Dec 1, 2009.

A portable microevaporator for low temperature single atom studies by scanning tunneling and dynamic force microscopy

H.-P. Rust, T. Konig, G. H. Simon, M. Nowicki, V. Simic-Milosevic et al.
Here, we present a microevaporator setup for single adatom deposition at low temperature, which is a prerequisite for most single atom studies with scanning probe techniques. The construction of the microevaporator is based on the tungsten filament of a modified halogen lamp, covered with the requir ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 80, 113705 (2009)] published Mon Nov 30, 2009.

A diffraction-limited scanning system providing broad spectral range for laser scanning microscopy

Jiun-Yann Yu (游鈞彥), Chien-Sheng Liao (廖建盛), Zong-Yan Zhuo (卓宗衍), Chen-Han Huang (黃貞翰), Hsiang-Chen Chui (崔祥辰) et al.
Diversified research interests in scanning laser microscopy nowadays require broadband capability of the optical system. Although an all-mirror-based optical design with a suitable metallic coating is appropriate for broad-spectrum applications from ultraviolet to terahertz, most researchers prefer ... [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 80, 113704 (2009)] published Tue Nov 10, 2009.