User`s guide

Agilent 5500 SPM Components 2
Agilent 5500 SPM User’s Guide 38
Scanner
The Agilent 5500 is a tip-scanning system, in which the cantilever sits
on a scanner and is moved in raster fashion across the stationary sample.
The scanner includes one or more elements made from piezoceramic
material. When an electric field is applied to the piezo elements, they
elongate or contract. The motion of the tip in the Z axis, and raster
scanning in the X and Y axes, are all achieved by applying high voltages
to the scanner’s piezo element(s).
Agilent’s multi-purpose scanner modules contain the piezo elements,
the socket for the nose assembly, mounting for the detector, and
interconnections. The scanners are considered “multi-purpose” because
nose assemblies can be switched in and out of the scanner for different
imaging modes or environments.
Figure 14 A-type Scanner Module
Agilent SPMs use two types of scanners: A and B. A-type scanners are
most typically used with the Agilent 5500 SPM (B-type scanners can be
used though the video system will not be functional).
A-type scanners that use a 980 nm IR wavelength laser diode are also
available for those using inverted microscopes. Additional details for
aligning such lasers are in Chapter 4.
There are four A-type scanners:
• The small multi-purpose scanner includes four piezo plates (two
each for X and Y motion) and a small piezo tube (for Z motion). The
scanner provides scans up to 10 microns square. It is capable of
atomic-level resolution imaging.