An Improved AFM Head for Biological Specimen

Ideally the atomic force microscope (AFM) provides three-dimensional structure of surfaces at high resolution. Nevertheless, there are some requirements for work with biological specimens which should be taken into consideration in the design of an AFM. And a key requirement is that the AFM should be capable of scanning over relatively large areas. In this paper we introduce an experimental AFM head which can scan as large as 200 mumtimes200 mum. It will be very useful for scanning biological specimens. Our design is an extension of a product NSPM 6800, which is manufactured in China. We use this experimental instrumentation to scan the surface of a calibration grating and red blood cells, and obtain the images successfully. The results show that this AFM head has the basic capability to scan large areas, as well as general biological specimens.