CP-qp-SCONT-Au

Colloidal AFM probe with gold microsphere on NANOSENSORS™ SD-qp-SCONT-TL AFM cantilever

Microsphere
Material: Gold
Diameter: 1.5-5.5 µm
AFM Cantilever
Force constant: 0.01 N/m
Length: 125 µm
Res. Frequency: 11 kHz
Select microsphere diameter:

The CP-qp-SCONT-Au colloidal probe features a spherical gold (Au) microparticle attached by a polymer adhesive to the free end of a NANOSENSORS™ SD-qp-SCONT-TL tipless AFM cantilever.

The microspheres are made of gold with very high purity (≥ 99.96%). They are available in 2 different diameter ranges:

  • A = 1.5 µm - 3 µm
  • B = 3 µm – 5.5 µm

Please choose A, B or C when ordering!

Due to the different microsphere masses, the colloidal probe resonance frequency may be lower than the specified value for the base tipless AFM cantilever.

The NANOSENSORS™ SD-qp-SCONT-TL cantilevers are designed for special applications where no AFM tip at the end of the AFM cantilever is needed. They are chemically inert to most common solvents.

A partial reflective gold coating is deposited on the free end of the detector side of the AFM cantilever. The main advantages of the coating are the low bending and the reduced drift, particularly for measurements in liquid environments.

The holder chip features alignment grooves on the back side which guarantee precise alignment of the AFM cantilever position when used together with the NANOSENSORS™ Alignment chip.

The colloidal probe technique uses single colloids attached to AFM cantilevers for force measurements and offers possibilities for better understanding of many fundamental interactions such as adhesion phenomena, particle-surface interactions, mechanical properties, suspensions, hydrodynamics and boundary slip.

Please note that the state-of-the-art synthesis process of gold microparticles cannot guarantee a perfectly spherical shape with perfect surface smoothness. Nanoroughness and small shape deviations are to be expected.