Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are instruments that allow three-dimensional imaging of surfaces with nanometer resolution. Also used to determine chemical and mechanical properties of surfaces, they and their cousins, collectively called scanning probe microscopes, are the principal enabling technologies in the fields of nanoscience and engineering. Nanoscience and engineering encompass many different disciplines, e.g. physics, chemistry, materials science, electrical engineering, and biology. Their common thread is the mutual focus on understanding, designing, and controlling processes and devices at the nanoscale.
If you complete this course, you will understand the functional principles of AFMs, be able to run one, and interpret the data that you collect. The course has two main parts. The first half of the term emphasizes instrumentation, the second half interpretation. Each week, there are three one-hour lectures, one one-hour computer lab, and one two-hour instrument lab. Successful completion of PH 1110 and 1120 are strongly recommended. PH 1130 and 1140 are also suggested. Previous students have indicated that the course was not only helpful to their research, but also in finding employment and securing admission to graduate school. Auditors are welcome to sit in the lectures. However, they may not partake in the labs due to the high cost of supplies, the limited number of TAs, and licensing issues.
AFM | Grading
| Calendar
| Objectives
| Materials
| Prelabs and
labs | HW
and
presentation | Communication
and dates
Type
of Assignment |
# x % (Min.Words) |
Pts. |
PL, prelab quizzes |
6 x 1 % |
5 |
IL, instrument lab reports |
3 x 4 % (400) 2 x 8 % (800) 1 x 12 % (1200) |
20 |
EX, exams | 2 x 10 % | 50 |
PP/PA/PR, project proposal, abstract, presentation | 1 %, 3 % (300), 4% | 5 |
CL, computer lab reports | 7 x 2 % (200) | 5 |
ML, "macro"-lab reports |
6 x 1 % (100) | 5 |
Q, quiz questions |
16 x 6/16 % |
5 |
Rating | 5-pt scale |
Suggests competence |
2 |
Demonstrates competence |
3 |
Suggests mastery |
4 |
Demonstrates mastery |
5 |
Week of | Monday IS 105 (mostly) |
Tuesday IS 105 (mostly) |
Instrument
Lab OH 009, Tues or Weds |
Thursday IS 105 |
Computer Lab (mostly) GH 012 Fridays (mostly) |
9 January 2022 |
Introduction
on
"Monday" Q1 ZOOM |
Instrumentation Q2 ZOOM |
Feedback
and artifacts Q3 ZOOM |
||
16 January |
CL1.
Image processing Meet in OH 114 |
IL1.
Laboratory procedures PL1 |
Perturbations
and noise Q4, CL1 |
CL2. Feedback and
noise ML1 |
|
23 January |
FFTs
Q5 |
STM Q6, IL1 |
IL2.
Acquiring PL2 |
LFM Q7, CL2 |
CL3.
FFTs ML2 |
30 January |
Other modes Q8 |
Probe calibration Q9, IL2 |
IL3. Optimizing PL3 |
Scanner
calibration Q10, CL3 |
UFk
Meet in IS 105 Q11, ML3 |
6 February |
CL4. UFk Meet in OH 114 |
Force curves Q12, IL3 |
IL4.
Calibration PL4 |
EX1 CL4 |
CL5.
Stiffness ML4 |
13 February |
Mechanical
properties Q13 |
Surface forces Q14, IL4 |
IL5. Force curves PL5 |
Contact mechanics Q15, CL5 |
CL6.
Contact
mechanics ML5, PP |
20 February |
Molecular
dynamics Q16 |
EX2 CL6 |
IL6.
Contact mechanics PL6 |
Advising
Day, Make-up labs? IL5 |
Reading Day,
Make-up labs? ML6,
PA |
27 February |
Student talks PR |
Student talks PR |
Make-up labs? |
Visit
other AFMs on campus IL6 |
CL7.
Molecular dynamics CL7 |
Between lab reports and prelabs, labs are
worth 66 % of your final grade.
You will work in teams of two or three on
the instrument and for macro-labs, but you will submit individual lab
reports.
You
will work individually on the computer and submit
individual computer lab reports. Instrument lab
reports
should use
the
provided template.
Instructions and the template reside at our Canvas site.
I will answer
questions concerning
the self-paced computer labs during our regularly scheduled sessions in
GH 012 on Fridays at 12:00. If you miss a session, your lab
report will
be expected to be of the same quality as
if
you had attended. It is also due at the regularly scheduled
time. Any
of the almost four-hundred public
computers on campus offer the course software. You may also
install it
on up to two of your own computers, but you are not allowed to
distribute it.
The equipment for the macro-labs is in OH 114. The purpose of
the macro-labs is to demonstrate
important course concepts in a hands-on, visual way.
The first three instrument labs are for you to learn how to take a good image and are each worth 4 % of your final grade. The fourth concerns calibration, the fifth how to acquire and process a force curve. These are each worth 8 % of your final grade. After learning the basics in the first five labs, the capstone experience is the experiment in the sixth lab where you will take a high-quality image, then acquire and interpret a force curve after calibrating the probe's tip and spring constant. And now that you have practiced the skill and art of report writing in the first part of the term, this last lab report is worth 12 % of your final grade. The grading rubric will be posted at Canvas. If you have a question about the labs as you write your reports, see me, or talk to one of the PLAs. They are: Brigitte N Lefebvre, bnlefebvre@wpi.edu and Samuel P Skinner, spskinner@wpi.edu.
You must attend each of the six instrument labs
in order to pass the course. If you have an
important
appointment
or religious observance that conflicts with your regularly scheduled
lab
session, you may switch lab times with a classmate, but you must inform
me
by email at least a day in advance. If unavoidable, lab make-ups
will
be
held over the Advising/Reading Day weekend and the last full week of
the term. If you were able to perform
the
lab work on time but your lab report is tardy, a one-point penalty per
business
day (out of twenty points) will be enacted. Instrument labs are
an essential part of the course, and this grading scheme reflects their
importance.
The presentation is a means for you to explore a subject that
interests you. You will synthesize at least two related articles
in cogent fashion for me and the rest of the class. For the
presentation
proposal, submit two related publications
that interest
you about modern materials, biophysics, or nanotechnology. At
least one
article
must be from a 2017 or later peer-reviewed journal. (No web sites
unless they are web versions of peer-reviewed journals. A good
place
to
start is scholar.google.com.
Let us
define peer-reviewed journals as those
that appear in the Thomson
ISI master journal list, although this definition is more
convenient than accurate.)
The other may be from a popular science source, such as Discovery
Magazine
or the New York Times. I want to ensure that the articles are
appropriate
for your talk. (Are they related to the course? Are they
specific
enough
to summarize in a few minutes?)