A Versatile Variable Field Module For Asylum Cypher Scanning Probe System

摘要

With the rapid progress of nano technologies, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has become one of the most widely used techniques for imaging, measuring and manipulating various characteristics of materials at the nanoscale. However, there are very limited options for the characterization of multiferroic samples with simultaneous electric and magnetic stimuli. In this work, we demonstrate a versatile variable field module (VFM) with magnetic field up to 1800 Oe built for the Asylum Research Cypher system. The capability of the VFM system is demonstrated by degaussing a floppy disk media with increasing magnetic field. The written bits are erased at about 850 Oe. Angular dependent measurements clearly show the evolution of the magnetic domain structures. A completely reversible magnetic force microscopy (MFM) phase contrast image appears when the magnetic field is rotated by 180°. A further demonstration of magnetic switching of CoFe_2O_4 pillars in CoFe_2O_4-BiFeO_3 nanocomposites will be presented and field dependent MFM and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) will be discussed.