This colloidal probe combines the well-known features of the proven NANOSENSORS™ uniqprobe™ AFM probes series such as high application versatility, compatibility with most commercial SPMs and strongly reduced force constant dispersion, with a spherical microparticle instead of a sharp AFM tip.
The SD-qp-CONT-TL tipless AFM cantilevers from the NANOSENSORS™ Special Developments List are made of a quartz-like material and the unsurpassed uniformity of their mechanical characteristics is particularly relevant for applications in which a large number of AFM probes with known and nearly identical force constants are needed.
The Colloidal Probe Technique, in which single colloids are attached with polymer glue to AFM cantilevers for force measurements, offers possibilities for a better understanding of fundamental interactions in a variety of fields. Examples are adhesion phenomena, particle-surface interactions, mechanical properties, suspensions, hydrodynamics and boundary slip, to name just a few out of the increasing number of applications.
The colloidal probe offers the following features:
Due to the different microparticle masses the resonance frequency may be lower than the one specified for the base tipless AFM cantilever.
Please note that state-of-the-art synthesis of gold microparticles does not guarantee ideal surface smoothness and ideal spherical shape. Some nanoroughness and small shape deviations are an inevitable result of the nature of the synthesis process.
This AFM probe features alignment grooves on the back side of the holder chip.
