First published 1 September 2019
QUT’s Bruker Icon PT AFM is a user-friendly, large-sample microscope that can accommodate a wide variety of hard and soft materials, and can perform measurements in air or in liquids. The AFM uses a very fine tip which is driven back and forth across the specimen surface, building up and image line by line. The scanning tip’s movement is controlled by special ceramic materials that expand or contract when a voltage is applied.
This so-called piezo-electric effect can be controlled so precisely that surfaces can be mapped at the level of individual atoms. During scanning, the height of the sample is monitored by a laser which reflects from the back of the tip.
As well as analysing the surface topography of materials, AFM techniques can be used to map changes in hardness, magnetism, stickiness and electrical conductivity across a surface.
CARF offers two tiers of AFM training, the first being for basic imaging and operation, and the second for advanced users.
CARF houses a range of purpose-built laboratories with state-of-the-art instruments for scientific analysis and provides expertise in surface science, including condensed matter physics, physical chemistry and other physical sciences.