Versatile Variable Temperature and Magnetic Field Scanning Probe Microscope for Advanced Material Research

TL;DR

This paper presents a versatile variable temperature and magnetic field scanning probe microscope capable of detailed material studies across a wide temperature and magnetic field range, with advanced sample handling and combined STM/AFM capabilities.

Contribution

The system integrates variable temperature, high magnetic field, multiple sample handling, and combined STM/AFM in a compact design for advanced material research.

Findings

Enables systematic studies of diverse samples with different doping conditions.

Supports simultaneous STM/AFM imaging of insulating and correlated electron materials.

Operates effectively within a 52 mm bore magnet at 4.6 K to 180 K and up to 7 Tesla.

Abstract

We have built a variable temperature scanning probe microscope (SPM) that covers 4.6 K - 180 K and up to 7 Tesla whose SPM head fits in a 52 mm bore magnet. It features a temperature-controlled sample stage thermally well isolated from the SPM body in good thermal contact with the liquid helium bath. It has a 7 sample holder storage carousel at liquid helium temperature for systematic studies using multiple samples and field emission targets intended for spin-polarized spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) study on samples with various compositions and doping conditions. The system is equipped with a UHV sample preparation chamber and mounted on a two-stage vibration isolation system made of a heavy concrete block and a granite table on pneumatic vibration isolators. A quartz resonator (qPlus) based non-contact atomic force microscope (AFM) sensor is used for simultaneous STM/AFM operation for research on samples with highly insulating properties such as strongly underdoped cuprates and strongly correlated electron systems.