A laboratory for Scanning Probe Microscopy and Near Field Spectroscopy. A Solver P-47H AFM, and a Solver SNOM, with SNC080 head, have been acquired by NT-MDT Co., and accommodated in a sound-proof room and on an optical table in order to isolate the system from vibrations.

The AFM apparatus:
The Solver P-47H AFM is equipped with SFC090SEMI head, that is able to operate in air in contact mode, in non-contact mode and in intermittent contact mode. It is able also to operate as Lateral Force Microscopy (LFM), Force Modulation Microscopy (FMM), Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM), Electrostatic Force Microscopy (EFM), Scanning Capacitance Microscopy (SCM), Scanning Kelvin Microscopy (SKM) and nano-lithography tool. Further operation mode is the Spectroscopy mode, in which it is possible to measure relationships between various signal, for example Feedback signal, Deflection signal, and distances between the probe and the sample obtaining information, as an example, on the cantilever oscillation amplitude and on adhesion properties of the sample.
The head is equipped with a 90 x 90 x 5 mm piezoelectric-tube scanner, which moves the probe in the (x,y) plane and in z direction respect to the sample. The probe, coupled to the scanner, is essentially a sharp tip located at the free end of a flexible cantilever. The cantilever is fixed on a solid substrate inserted in a probe holder situated on the scanner.
The head is also provided of a tip-to-sample manual approach system for stand alone operation.
A SPM controller allows the acquisition of data, and their elaboration in digital map.
An optical viewing system is placed side by side to the AFM head in order to line up a laser spot on the cantilever and to place the probe on the sample. It is composed of a video-microscope with manual zoom and CCD, and a monitor.
The picture of Solver P-47H AFM is shown in Fig.2.


The SNOM apparatus:
The Solver SNOM is equipped with SNC080 head, that is able to operate in air in shear-force mode for surface topography measurements and simultaneously in optical mode for the near surface optical characterization with resolution beyond the diffraction limit.
The Solver SNOM is combined with an inverted optical microscope. It is mounted on the inverted optical microscope Olympus IX-70. In this configuration the SNOM is able to operate in reflection mode, in transmission mode, and also in collection mode. The inverted optical microscope is equipped with a series of objectives: 10X, 20X 40X. It is provided with a lateral port to collect the light from the sample (in reflection or in transmission) and than elaborate the optical data with external photo-detector, or also to illuminate the sample with a external source.
The SNC080 head is equipped with a 80 x 80 x 3.5 mm piezoelectric-tube scanner, which moves the fiber-optic probe in the (x,y) plane and in z direction respect to the sample. In this case the probe consists of a metal coated sharp tip optical fiber with an aperture of about 50-100nm formed at one end of it. A quartz resonator (tuning fork) is glued to the sharpened tip, and when activated it controls and guarantees the probe sample distance.
The head is also provided of a tip-to-sample manual approach system for stand alone operation.
A SPM controller allows the acquisition of data, and their elaboration in digital map.
The lateral port of the inverted optical microscope Olympus IX-70 is coupled to a spectroscopic system, SP-308-I, by Roper Scientific- Acton Research, that is coupled through a lateral port with a Liquid Nitrogen cooled CCD, Spec10:256E-LN, by Princeton Instruments, and through a micrometric controlled entrance slit with a photo-multiplier tube, R943-02, by Hamamatsu. In this configuration it is possible to obtain near-field spectroscopy analysis, using the SNOM probe in static mode, and to obtain near-field optic response of a matrix of the sample in dynamic mode, respectively. The photo-multiplier tube is connected with the SPM controller, in order to translate the data collected in a optical map.
For the transmission and reflection mode a laser source is coupled to the free extreme of the optical fiber probe through a fiber launch system equipped with a micrometer positioning stage, an objective and a fiber holder. In particular a laser source with a wavelength at 532nm and an output power of 50 mW, Ventus 532-50mW, by Laser Quantum; a multi-line air-cooled Argon Ion laser in the range 457-514 nm, ILT-5490A, by Ion Laser Technology; and a He-Ne laser with a wavelength at 632,8 nm and an output power of 10 mW, by Melles Griot, are available in laboratory.
The picture of Solver SNOM is shown in Fig.3.