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Page 3 of 3 Applications
Environmental control options
- The PNL NTEGRA is equipped with precision temperature alteration and
control facilities. This gives the opportunity to vary the sample
temperature from -30 oC to 300 oC. Therefore
measurements of such phenomena as structural changes at the surface of
specimens (due to crystallization, melting, growth processes etc.) are
possible.
- A special thermohead featuring a very low thermal drift ensures high
temperature stability of the tip-sample system. This allows long-term
experiments to be done at pre-defined points on the specimen surface.
- The PNL NTEGRA includes a closed flow-thru liquid cell with an option of heating its cotents up to 60 oC.
Therefore measurements in liquid environment, which are very important
for biological, chemical and some material applications, are possible.
Biological objects, such as living cells and interacting
macromolecules, can now be observed in close-to-native conditions.
- The base unit can be enclosed within a specially designed cast metal
hood equipped with a set of feedthroughs. This hood seals the system
hermetically and, using a rotary pump, can operate both in vacuum (10-2
Torr) and in a controlled gas atmosphere. This extends the system
performance and enables researchers to study and modify nanostructures
in various rarefied gas environments with a controlled gas composition.
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Optical measurements
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- The inverted optical microscope is a one of the main instruments in the
research of transparent samples. Its combination with the SPM parts of
the PNL NTEGRA leads to the molecular scale detalization of images
that are typically obtained with the micron resolution using a
stand-alone optical microscope. In this set-up the microscope objective
is inserted into a special optical measuring head mount of the PNL
NTEGRA. This secures high mechanical rigidity and stability of the
system making it possible to get high quality images during long-term
measurements. Bright-field and fluorescence microscopy is also
available in this configuration.
- A different optical scheme has been realized to meet the requirements
of simultaneous SPM investigations with visualization of
non-transparent objects. In this scheme a high numerical aperture video
microscope objective with long working distance is integrated into a
special head which allows observation of the area normally obscured
by the cantilever for a direct view. This unique set-up gives the
opportunity to inspect specimens with a high optical resolution (up to
0.4 µm), then select the region of interest and finally analyse it with
the SPM achieving a resolution of several nanometers. The video
microscope objective can also be employed to deliver an appropriate
laser beam underneath the cantilever to investigate local spectral
properties of the object.
- These SPM assemblies can be useful in biology, material science etc.
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