Australian Overturns 15 Years of Nano-Science Doctrine

Roland Piquepaille writes "Dr John Sader, from the University of Melbourne, discovered a design flaw in a key component of the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). He 'used established mechanical principles to prove that the popular V-shaped cantilever inadvertently degrades the performance of the instrument, and delivers none of its intended benefits.' This finding may reshape the industry by proposing a single new standard and because the AFM 'has been the instrument of choice for three dimensional measurements at the atomic scale, since its invention in 1986.' Check this column for more details and an AFM diagram or read the original University of Melbourne's article. You also can visit the 'How AFM works' page."

Comments

Yeah... but they work

[helix_r]

V-shaped cantilevers work fine. People can obtain atomic resolution with them. What more could you want?

I have used both straight and V-shaped. If there is a difference in performance, the difference is mostly likely very small and over-shadowed by other factors.

Re:Making an AFM microscope shouldn't be that hard

[mOdQuArK!]

I heard that they when they started making ATMs, the first tips were "made" by smashing a diamond between two plates of steel, then trying as many of the resultant crystal fragments as possible to see which one gave the best resolution. They "estimated" that the ones which gave the best resolution had a tip with the sharpness of a single atom.

Not Just Incorrect Measurements

[agg123456789]

AFMs are being used to do alot more than measure nowadays. This summer I worked on Dip-Pen Nanolithography which uses an AFM like a fountian pen of sorts. It's pretty cool stuff, and if that cantilever is off (the piece which holds the "nub" of the pen) then all of the work done could be rendered incorrect... DPN Information