The Oxford Instruments Asylum Research’s Cypher ES Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) adds well-implemented environmental control to the Cypher S base model’s ultra-high resolution and quick scanning.
The Cypher ES scanner builds on the versatility of the Cypher AFM platform with a fully sealed gas-tight and liquid-tight sample cell that serves as the foundation for environmental control options such as heating, cooling, humidity control, and an electrochemical cell.
The features make the Cypher ES the perfect AFM for study disciplines involving polymers, graphene and other 2D materials, batteries, photovoltaic materials, and biomolecules and biomembranes that demand precise environmental control.
Uniquely Well Implemented Environmental Control Capabilities
The only atomic force microscope with a completely sealed, pressure-tight sample compartment is the Cypher ES. It was built from the bottom up to provide superior environmental control.
All Cypher ES environmental control features are built on this ground-breaking concept, resulting in environmental management that is both more effective and user-friendly than that found on competing AFMs.
It is vital that the cell can be completely sealed, regardless of whether the sample is being heated or chilled, managing the humidity, working in a dry or inert atmosphere, or utilizing an electrochemical cell.
Only then can the user be sure that the environment is steady and under control, that the sample is safeguarded, and that the AFM is leak-free.
Additionally, the Cypher ES is specifically built to facilitate imaging in the most difficult experimental circumstances, such as in environments with low oxygen and water concentrations and solvents that are chemically hostile.
Fast Scanning Captures Nanoscale Dynamic Processes
Each and every part of the Cypher ES is also built to allow quick scanning. Conventional AFMs, which make up the great majority of AFMs on the market today, scan pictures at a rate of only 1–2 lines per second, necessitating a lengthy acquisition process for each image.
However, rapid scanning AFMs like the Cypher ES can image 10–20 times quicker, allowing for the acquisition of pictures in as little as a few seconds.
In experimental systems including polymer thermal transitions, in operando battery studies, and etch and dissolution processes, the Cypher ES is able to view nanoscale dynamic phenomena as a result.
The Cypher ES can be easily upgraded to the Cypher VRS1250, which offers scan rates of up to 1250 lines/second and genuine video-rate AFM movies at up to 45 frames/second, for the highest level of high-speed AFM imaging.
Easily and Routinely Obtain Higher Spatial Resolution
The Cypher ES was built from the ground up with high spatial resolution in mind. Due to its mechanical stability, it is frequently utilized without any extra vibration isolation.
The “mechanical loop,” which connects the sample to the AFM cantilever, is totally enclosed in the scanner, making it short, rigid, and almost immune to external sources of vibration and acoustic noise.
This is unlike other AFMs. On most AFMs, reaching an atomic and molecular resolution is a “hero experiment,” however on the Cypher ES, these findings can be simply and regularly accomplished in any lab on any day. Amazingly, even in the high-noise and high-vibration environment of a glovebox, the Cypher ES retains its ultra-high-resolution capability.
Simpler Environmental Control Opens New Research Potential
Moreover, the Cypher ES is incredibly practical and simple to use. It can be positioned practically anywhere in the lab due to its compact footprint and excellent noise immunity.
The AFM program can completely regulate the environmental control choices, which can be switched out fast and conveniently without the need for additional wires, tubing, or control boxes.
As a result, environmental control studies are easier to set up and run, which ultimately expands research opportunities and facilitates the creation of new sophisticated materials.
The Cypher ES is a fantastic solution for both big multidisciplinary research groups and shared multi-user imaging facilities thanks to its flexibility to quickly swap between environmental control choices.