Nanotechnology is strongly focused on the development of devices at the nanometer scale, either composed by inorganic materials or by biomolecules or organic compounds. Towards the realization of nanodevices, the Atomic Force Microscope is regarded as one of the most flexible tools, useful both for a detailed inspection of the samples and for the development of particular geometries on them, by means of nanolithography or nanomanipulation.
Towards this ends, a major problem is determined by the environment, which causes artifacts during the imaging attempts or eventually causes the formation of spurious particles and systems on the samples themselves.
A method to overcome these prblems is usually to work under Ultra High Vacuum lines. Beyond the expensiveness of this solution is the difficulty to operate with many materials (such as organic ones), unsuitable to be managed or maintained under those stringent pressure conditions.
We have developed an ad hoc system based on a High Vacuum chamber (up to 10-6 Torr), which allows to work under limited vacuum conditions. The system, therefore, can be used with most of the samples which suffer of higher pressures, and exploits all the benefits arising from a controlled atmosphere environment.
We have equipped the chamber with an AFM and a sample-holder/mover. The device can take a sample from a carousel and place it onto the piezo tube. An external X-Y-Z motion controller, completely automated, allows the easy positioning of the sample under the sensing cantilever and the consequent relative approach.
The device is being optimized in the driving software in order to allow direct manipulation of the samples, both in terms of nanolithography and of nanomanipulation.