AFM data acquisition system and controller

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With this application we request a state-of the art atomic force microscope controller and data acquisition system. We have achieved an international leadership position in investigating the nucleation and growth of organic molecules on insulating ionic crystal surfaces. A next crucial step is the 3D force field imaging of molecules attached to metal electrodes to investigate charge transfer as well as electronic transport as a function of the atomic structure of the system. To achieve these goals, we need to operate our AFM cantilevers at higher modes and thus frequencies to increase data acquisition speed and resolution without sacrificing sensitivity. Tip-sample interactions manifest themselves as a shift of the resonant frequency of the AFM cantilever (frequency modulation or nc-AFM technique). A major challenge is to detect Hz resonant frequency shifts on a MHz carrier frequency with a 10-100 kHz bandwidth. This can be done with a commercial digital data acquisition and control system that recently became available. We need this system now in order to maintain our leadership position.