Proximal or local probe microscopies (SPM) are key enabling techniques in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, supporting a wide spectrum of multidisciplinary activities.
The LMA has two multi-purpose AFM/STM heads (Bruker Multimode 8) mounted on an anti-vibration damping table, covering a wide range of applications in near ambient conditions.
The Bruker Multimode 8 (previously Veeco) is an AFM/STM microscope additionally equipped with KPM (Kelvin Probe Microscopy), c-AFM (conductive AFM), PFM (Piezo Response Microscopy), cells for liquid and electrochemical measurements, PicoForce module for force spectroscopy, variable temperature Peltier controller (-22 ºC to 200 ºC), Torsion-mode and QNM (Quantitative Nanomechanical Property Mapping) measurements, with Peak Force mode available.

More information: https://lma.unizar.es/veeco-bruker-multimode-8-afm/

Applications: LMA

The LMA has the following 3 pieces of equipment that allow the development of STM/STS measurements:

1) Specs JT-STM
This is a tunnelling microscope (STM) with a base temperature of 1.2 K, equipped with a 3 Tesla axial magnetic field. In the LMA we have implemented the spin-polarized STM mode to obtain simultaneous magnetic moment and topographic maps with atomic resolution. The microscope has attached ultra-high-vacuum chambers (P<1E-10 mbar) with accessories to prepare any type of surface.
Overall, it has the capacity to accommodate up to 24 samples/tips, 7 metal evaporators (2 of them directed towards the sample under cryogenic conditions) and 2 evaporators for organic material.
Due to its characteristics, the facility allows most standard STM characterizations, but is especially dedicated to magnetic characterization and high resolution spectroscopy (0.08 meV), both of which can be combined with STM manipulation for the construction of structures with atomic precision.

More information: https://lma.unizar.es/specs-jt-stm/

2) Omicron LT-qPlus -SPM
This instrument combines Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) with Tunneling Tunneling Microscopy (STM) in Ultra-High-High-Vacuum (UHV) conditions from 300 K to 5K. It is extremely versatile and stable and allows high-resolution spectroscopic and force measurements. By means of a tuning fork probe (q-Plus), ultra-fine organic and inorganic samples grown on flat surfaces can be studied. Additionally, the tip can be functionalized with CO molecules, which provides intra-molecular resolution. Also, in AFM mode it can work on insulating or semiconducting surfaces.
The equipment has an attached preparation chamber for cleaning metallic substrates and evaporating both organic and inorganic materials, which can be characterized using a low-energy electron diffractometer (LEED). It has a fast substrate entry chamber that also allows for vacuum exfoliation of substrates.

More information: https://lma.unizar.es/omicron-lt-qplus-spm/

3) Aarhus VT-SPM
The Aarhus is a microscope that combines STM and non-contact AFM thanks to the KolibriTM sensor in ultra-high-vacuum conditions (P<10-10 mbar). Besides being able to take images with atomic resolution of metallic and insulating samples, the main peculiarity of this instrument is a filament that allows to heat the sample up to 900 °C by light radiation, while keeping the tip and the scanner protected around room temperature. This accessory, together with the possibility to dose gases and evaporate materials in-situ during scanning, makes the Aahrus an ideal instrument to explore the chemical and catalytic activity of a surface after establishing artificial thermodynamic conditions adjusted to the time resolution demanded by the experiment.The Aarhus is connected to the JT-STM in a UHV environment. The Aarhus is connected to the JT-STM in a UHV environment. In this way, sample preparation accessories are shared and the user can transfer the same sample between both microscopes.
Applications include real-time monitoring of thermally activated processes such as chemical vapor deposition (e.g. for graphene on metals), surface synthesis, metal epitaxy and self-assembly of organic monolayers.

More information: https://lma.unizar.es/aarhus-vt-spm/

Applications: LMA

Agilent G200 Nanoindenter. Equipment for the determination of mechanical properties in the nanometer range by measuring the displacement of a diamond tip, with known geometry, on a material as a function of the load exerted by the tip.
The techniques available are:
Load-discharge curves for determination of Young’s modulus and hardness according to ISO 14577 standard. Maximum load 500 mN.
Continuous Stiffness Measurement.
Lateral force measurement and scratch test.
Measurement with intense load up to 10 N.

Contact: Miguel Ciria (ciria@unizar.es)