A 12-electrode piezoelectric tube scanner for fast atomic force microscopy

This paper presents a 12-electrode piezoelectric tube scanner for fast atomic force microscopy (AFM). The scanner is used simultaneously as a sensor and an actuator. The built-in sensing mechanism of the scanner allows for displacement measurement and the unique arrangement of the electrodes allows the tube to be driven in an anti-symmetrical manner, resulting in a collocated system suitable for positive-position feedback (PPF). A PPF controller is designed to damp the scanner´s resonance. The device is installed into an AFM to obtain open- and closed-loop images of a grating at 10Hz, 15.6Hz and 31Hz scan rates. The closed-loop images are noticeably superior to the open-loop images, showcasing the effectiveness of the proposed scanner.