DIY AFM (atomic force microscope)
Bryan Bishop
I found this hidden on the Internet Archive earlier this morning. In
this particular study, a group printed out an atomic force microscope
by SLS, a 3D printing method, bought some parts, and made a functional
AFM. Interestingly enough, in the study, they tested the probe/tip
against DNA and found that they could do at least 650 reads of the DNA
and get back basically the same response- in other words, they were
doing single molecular force spectroscopy, which is a really big deal.
They also were kind enough to document where to buy the non-3D-printed
parts.
zip file: http://heybryan.org/books/papers/AFM.zip
dir: http://heybryan.org/books/papers/AFM/
And where it was on the web, all abandoned and alone :-(
http://web.archive.org/web/20080106164837/http://www.biophysik.physik.uni-muenchen.de/PlasticAFM/
Dan
things a bit. The purchased parts are where the vast majority of the
cost and complexity are at. Also, there's no piezo controller or
amplifier for the signal and no data processing software. It's akin
to rapid prototyping the chassis of a car and then saying that you've
rapid prototyped a car. *
*engine, drivetrain, body panels, windows, furnishings, fuel system,
computer and software purchase separately.
>
> - Bryanhttp://heybryan.org/
> 1 512 203 0507
Bryan Bishop
> Interesting work but calling it a rapid prototyped AFM is stretching
> things a bit. The purchased parts are where the vast majority of the
> cost and complexity are at. Also, there's no piezo controller or
> amplifier for the signal and no data processing software. It's akin
> to rapid prototyping the chassis of a car and then saying that you've
> rapid prototyped a car. *
I don't really care if it's called a "rapid prototyped" AFM or not. As
long as it gets built easily. Anyway, as for the software issues--
http://gwyddion.net/ "Gwyddion is a modular program for SPM (scanning
probe microscopy) data visualization and analysis. Primarily it is
intended for analysis of height fields obtained by scanning probe
microscopy techniques (AFM, MFM, STM, SNOM/NSOM), however it can be
generally used for any other height field and image analysis, for
instance for analysis of profilometry data (learn more about Gwyddion
features)."
http://gxsm.sourceforge.net/ "The GXSM is the Gnome X Scanning
Microscopy project, it is a bit more than just a piece of software
(the GXSM itself), there is full hardware support for DSP cards
including open source DSP software and a growing set of SPM related
electronics. And it is not limited to SPM at all, it provides generic
multidimensional image and data movie processing."
Screenshots:
http://gxsm.sourceforge.net/gxsm2-DarwinMaxOSX-screenshot.jpg
http://gwyddion.net/screenshots/gwyddion-screenshot-8.png
For a piezo controller, follow the example of the $100 STM project.
How to make a disk scanner
http://www.geocities.com/spm_stm/disk_scanner.html
and the other electronics: http://www.geocities.com/spm_stm/Project.html
- Bryan
Dan
Back when I was doing AFM work, multi-thousand dollar proprietary
software was the only real option.
My point, though is not how easy it is to bolt that hardware to the
fabbed backbone but rather that it's still going to cost a decent sum
to get the hardware they're using.
The $100 STM is a great project but in its current geometry, not
compatible with standard AFM tips. I've been brainstorming ideas for
how to make that scan head work with a standard AFM tip but I'm not
seeing it without an extensive scanner redesign.
On Apr 21, 11:12 am, Bryan Bishop <kanz...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Interesting work but calling it a rapid prototyped AFM is stretching
> > things a bit. The purchased parts are where the vast majority of the
> > cost and complexity are at. Also, there's no piezo controller or
> > amplifier for the signal and no data processing software. It's akin
> > to rapid prototyping the chassis of a car and then saying that you've
> > rapid prototyped a car. *
>
> I don't really care if it's called a "rapid prototyped" AFM or not. As
> long as it gets built easily. Anyway, as for the software issues--
>
> http://gwyddion.net/"Gwyddion is a modular program for SPM (scanning
> probe microscopy) data visualization and analysis. Primarily it is
> intended for analysis of height fields obtained by scanning probe
> microscopy techniques (AFM, MFM, STM, SNOM/NSOM), however it can be
> generally used for any other height field and image analysis, for
> instance for analysis of profilometry data (learn more about Gwyddion
> features)."
>
> http://gxsm.sourceforge.net/"The GXSM is the Gnome X Scanning
> Microscopy project, it is a bit more than just a piece of software
> (the GXSM itself), there is full hardware support for DSP cards
> including open source DSP software and a growing set of SPM related
> electronics. And it is not limited to SPM at all, it provides generic
> multidimensional image and data movie processing."
>
> Screenshots:
>
> For a piezo controller, follow the example of the $100 STM project.
>
> - Bryanhttp://heybryan.org/
> 1 512 203 0507
Heath Matlock
"""
There are quite a few DIY STM projects out there on the web. You might have of heard of these two:
http://www.e-basteln.de/index_o.htm
http://sxm4.uni-muenster.de/stm-de/
If you liked these, go and have a look at our project.
http://www.stm-diy.ch
The mechanical design is from the SXM project but we made some changes to it. The electronics are completely new. Unfortunately, it's not finished yet - we still need to write some software before we can scan.
"""
Heath Matlock