Characterization of Air-Sensitive Materials with the Cypher ES AFM

There are many materials that are scientifically and commercially important and also inherently unstable under ambient conditions because they are reactive with oxygen or water. Characterization of these materials with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has been considered difficult because the measurements must normally be made in a glovebox. Though Asylum Research AFMs perform very well in a glovebox, the Cypher ES offers another option that can be more convenient for these sensitive samples. The Cypher ES features a hermetically sealed sample cell that can be removed from the AFM, transferred to a glovebox to load a sample and probe, and then placed back in the AFM for sample characterization, all without exposing the sample to the ambient environment. This application note describes:

• The various options for AFM characterization of air-sensitive samples
• Details of how the Cypher ES sample cell can protect these samples
• An example using this approach to characterize atomically thin layers of chromium triiodide (CrI₃), an air-sensitive 2D material.

(Free download, compliments of Asylum Research, the Technology Leader in Atomic Force Microscopy)