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PointProbe® Plus Non-Contact / Soft Tapping Mode - Au Coating (Detector side)

The PointProbe® Plus (PPP) combines the well-known features of the proven PointProbe® series such as high application versatility and compatibility with most commercial SPMs with a further reduced and more reproducible tip radius as well as a more defined AFM tip shape. The typical AFM tip radius of less than 7 nm and the minimized variation in AFM tip shape provide more reproducible images and enhanced resolution.

NANOSENSORS™ PPP-NCSTAuD AFM probes are designed for non-contact or soft tapping mode imaging. The combination of soft AFM cantilever and fairly high resonance frequency enables stable and fast measurements with reduced AFM tip-sample interaction. This feature significantly reduces AFM tip wear and sample wear at the same time.

The AFM probe offers unique features:

• guaranteed AFM tip radius of curvature < 10 nm
• AFM tip height 10 - 15 µm
• highly doped silicon to dissipate static charge
• Au coating on detector side of AFM cantilever
• chemically inert

A metallic layer (Au) is coated on the detector side of the AFM cantilever which enhances the reflectivity of the laser beam by a factor of about 2.5. Furthermore it prevents light from interfering within the AFM cantilever. The virtually stress-free coating is bending the AFM cantilever less than 2 % of the AFM cantilever length.