The surface-topography challenge: Contact mode imaging - Sample P48

The roughness measurements for the received sample - P48, were meticulously executed using an Atomic Force Microscope (Nanosurf Drive AFM). The measurements were conducted utilizing contact mode under ambient conditions. For these measurements, we employed sharp diamond-like-carbon-coated ContAlG AFM probes.

Spring constant of ContAlG AFM probe used: ~0.2 N/m

Methodology:
• The initial step involved cleaning of the samples in ethanol through ultrasonication to make the contamination-free surface.
• The cleaned samples were, then, placed on an AFM stage to conduct the measurements.
• The sample surface was gently approached using the AFM software controller.
• The desired area (2 µm x 2 µm) of the sample was scanned at an optimal set point to obtain accurate topographical information without causing any damage to the sample. The data were collected from about 6-7 different locations on the sample surface.
• The obtained topographical data were, then, processed using Gwyddion software to remove the artifacts in the data and analyzed to evaluate the area roughness measurements.

All the raw data files have been named according to the sample ID and AFM mode used.