Operating instructions

PREPARING FOR MEASUREMENT
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Installing the sample
Preparing the Sample
The easyScan 2 AFM can be used to examine any material with a surface
roughness that does not exceed the height range of the scanning tip. Nev-
ertheless the choice and preparation of the surface can influence the surface-
tip interaction. Examples of influencing factors are excess moisture, dust,
grease etc. Because of this some of the samples need special preparation to
clean their surface. Generally, clean as little as possible.
If the surface is dusty, try to measure on a clean area between the dust. It is
possible to blow coarse particles away with dry, oil free air, but small parti-
cles generally stick so well to the surface that they can not be removed. Note
that bottled pressurised air is generally dry, but pressurised air from an in-
house supply is generally not. In this case an oil filter should be installed.
Blowing dust away by breath is not advisable, because it is not dry.
When the surface is contaminated with grease, oil or something else, the
surface should be cleaned with a solvent. Suitable solvents are distilled or
demineralised water, alcohol or acetone, depending on the contaminant.
The solvent should be very pure, in order to prevent the collection of impu-
rities on the surface when the solvent evaporates. The sample should be
cleaned several times to remove dissolved and redeposited contaminants if
it is very contaminated. Delicate samples can be cleaned in an ultrasound
bath.
Basic Sample Kit
The Basic Sample Kit contains a CD sample and a Microstructure sample.
They can be used for determining if the instrument is functioning nor-
mally.
The microstructure sample consists of holes in a silicon oxide layer with an
unspecified period and depth. At the time of writing, the approximate
period is 10µm, the approximate depth is 100nm.
The CD sample is a piece from a CD, without any coating applied to it.
Both samples should be kept in their box. Then it should be unnecessary to
clean them. Cleaning is not advisable, because the grid is rather delicate.