Scanning & Local Probe

Comprehensive Suite of Scanning Microscopy Tools

The Scanning and Local Probe Facility (SLPF) is a unique lab that serves both as a test bed for novel nanoscale devices and materials and as an incubator for measurement instrumentation development. It is equipped with a suite of state-of-the-art scanning probe microscopes, optoelectronic/transport tools, and optical probes, some of which are recently developed and not yet available on commercial instruments. These core facilities are available to facilitate research related to nano/biotechnology. This facility is available for use by researchers in academia and industry.

What makes the  SLPF unique is its focus on combining different techniques and tools to promote new areas of research. For example, a controlled environment atomic force microscope (AFM) is paired with a total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscope to allow simultaneous optical imaging and mechanical testing of tagged proteins, cells, and molecules. Additionally, a DC-RF probe station works with an arc lamp and monochrometer that provides optical stimulation of photo-active devices. Another AFM has a specially shielded probe assembly which lets us use a network analyzer and measure impedance in the GHz range with nanometer scale spatial resolution.