MikroMasch Silicon Nitride AFM Probes are manufactured using thin film technology. As a result, their cantilevers can be thinner and with lower force constants than those made of silicon. In addition, silicon nitride is harder than silicon, offering good tip durability. Silicon nitride probes are often used for soft contact mode measurements on biological samples and other soft matter. The reflective gold coating is chemically inert and ensures stable reflectivity in liquids and buffer solutions. The optional tip side gold coating makes the tip slightly rounder and more suitable for scanning extremely sensitive and tear prone surfaces such as cell membranes. It also opens the possibility for tip functionalization. The XNC12 series probes have 2 different triangular silicon nitride cantilevers on each side of the holder chip. The cantilevers are thin and soft. Each cantilever has a square pyramidal silicon nitride tip with a sharpened apex. The probes have a 70 nm thick gold coating on the back side of the cantilever that enhances laser reflectivity. Two options are available for the tip side coating: no coating or a 35 nm thick gold coating.
Specification
Typical radius of uncoated tip: 10 nm Resulting tip radius with the coating: 30 nm Full tip cone angle*70° Total tip height: 3.5 nm Probe material: Silicon nitride Tip coating: Gold Detector coating: Gold