Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Bacterial Immobilization for Imaging by Atomic Force Microscopy
Published on: August 10, 2011
Thermoelectric stack sample cooling modification of a commercial atomic force microscopy
A Del Moral1, J C González-Rosillo2, A Gómez2
1Instituto de Microelectrónica de Barcelona, Centro Nacional de Microelectrónica (CSIC), Campus U.A.B., Bellaterra, Barcelona 08193, Spain; Institut de Ciència dels Materials de Barcelona, UAB Campus, Bellaterra 08193, Spain.
Abstract:
Enabling temperature dependent experiments in Atomic Force Microscopy is of great interest to study materials and surface properties at the nanoscale. By studying Curie temperature of multiferroic materials, temperature dependent phase transitions on crystalline structures or resistive switching phenomena are only a few examples of applications. We present an equipment capable of cooling samples using a thermoelectric cooling stage down to -61.4 °C in a 15 × 15 mm2 sample plate. The equipment uses a four-unit thermoelectric stack to achieve maximum temperature range, with low electrical and mechanical noise. The equipment is installed into a Keysight 5500LS Atomic Force Microscopy maintaining its compatibility with all Electrical and Mechanical modes of operation. We study the contribution of the liquid cooling pump vibration into the cantilever static deflection noise and the temperature dependence of the cantilever deflection. A La0.7Sr0.3MnO3-y thin film sample is used to demonstrate the performance of the equipment and its usability by analyzing the resistive switching phenomena associated with this oxide perovskite.
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Force Microscopy
The AFM Probe
The probe is regarded as the heart of any AFM setup and comprises the...
Heating and Cooling Curves
For instance, the addition of heat raises the temperature of a solid; the amount of heat absorbed depends on the heat capacity of the solid (q = mcsolidΔT). According to thermochemistry, the relation between the amount of heat absorbed or released by a substance, q, and its...
Atomic Orbitals
Intermolecular Forces
Atomic Mass
The Energies of Atomic Orbitals

