from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
This work reports on two novel SPM methods which both use tailored dual AFM tips. The first method, so called dual-tip magnetic force microscopy (DT-MFM), is based on two-pass scanning with switching nonmagnetic and magnetic tip during the scan. Thanks to segregation of topological and magnetic scans using two different tips this technique reduces invasion of high local magnetization of the tip apex and is suitable for soft magnetic sample. The second method, so called dual-tip force spectroscopy (DT-FS), is based on special dual-probe for bio-applications to study the mechanical properties of cells. It consists of two cantilevers; one having a sharp tip, the other having a spherically blunted tip. The sharp tip is used for topography imaging with high resolution, while blunt tip is used for measuring of force distance curves. The larger area of probe-cell contact results in averaging local variation in the cell rigidity compared to the one measured with a regular sharp probe. The switching between sharp and blunt tip is realized by means of integrated magnetostrictive actuator.
Keywords: AFM probes, dual-tip, magnetic force microscopy, force spectroscopy© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.