Sample size and weight

Tip-scanning designs keep performance on samples whose size or weight would defeat a sample-scanning instrument. If your specimen cannot be cut down, this decides the architecture.

Environment of the measurement

Work in liquid, in a glovebox, or under controlled conditions narrows the choice quickly. Photothermal excitation is what keeps operation stable in liquid.

What else it must work with

An AFM that has to combine with an inverted optical microscope, mount on an objective turret, or integrate into an existing stage is a different instrument from a standalone system.

Research breadth versus a fixed task

A shared research instrument benefits from a wide range of optional modes. An instrument doing one repeated measurement in production does not.

Acoustic and vibration isolation is part of the specification, not an accessory. Some systems bring the isolation inside the instrument, others need an enclosure.

Where accessories carry across models, starting mid-range and upgrading later protects the first investment.

Choosing an atomic force microscope.

Atomic force microscopes are chosen less by resolution than by how the sample and the surrounding equipment constrain the measurement. A sample that cannot be cut down, a measurement that has to happen in liquid, an instrument that must sit on an existing optical microscope, or a wafer that must be measured in a production flow — each of these points to a different design. Every instrument below is the right one for a particular constraint.

What actually drives the decision

Sample size and weight: Tip-scanning designs keep performance on samples whose size or weight would defeat a sample-scanning instrument. If your specimen cannot be cut down, this decides the architecture.
Environment of the measurement: Work in liquid, in a glovebox, or under controlled conditions narrows the choice quickly. Photothermal excitation is what keeps operation stable in liquid.
What else it must work with: An AFM that has to combine with an inverted optical microscope, mount on an objective turret, or integrate into an existing stage is a different instrument from a standalone system.
Research breadth versus a fixed task: A shared research instrument benefits from a wide range of optional modes. An instrument doing one repeated measurement in production does not.
Laboratory noise: Acoustic and vibration isolation is part of the specification, not an accessory. Some systems bring the isolation inside the instrument, others need an enclosure.
Upgrade path: Where accessories carry across models, starting mid-range and upgrading later protects the first investment.

What each option is built for

CoreAFM (Nanosurf)

Best suited to: A single instrument that has to cover a wide range of work for a whole group.

Typically runs in: University research groups and central facilities wanting one capable AFM as the work chief of the laboratory.

All-in-one: scanner, XYZ sample stage, camera, active vibration table and airflow shielding in one unit
Runs in air and in liquid
Extendable with more than 30 optional modes and functions
Compact — no separate isolation table required

What the site needs: Bench space in a normal laboratory. Isolation is built into the unit.

Full specification for CoreAFM

FlexAFM (Nanosurf)

Best suited to: Work that has to run standalone, on an inverted optical microscope, or inside a glovebox.

Typically runs in: Groups combining AFM with optical techniques, and laboratories working in controlled atmospheres.

Mid-range tip-scanning research AFM
Runs standalone, on an inverted optical microscope, or inside a glovebox
Handles large samples
Wide set of sample holders and add-ons
Accessories carry over to the DriveAFM on upgrade

What the site needs: A low-vibration bench, and the host microscope or glovebox if it is to be combined.

Full specification for FlexAFM

DriveAFM (Nanosurf)

Best suited to: Research-grade work in air and liquid, from single molecules to 2D materials.

Typically runs in: Research groups working on single molecules, virus capsids, 2D materials and semiconductors.

Tip-scanning research AFM for air and liquid
CleanDrive photothermal cantilever excitation keeps operation stable in liquid
Supports WaveMode off-resonance imaging
Suited to soft biological and delicate 2D samples

What the site needs: A low-vibration, low-noise laboratory environment appropriate to research-grade measurement.

Full specification for DriveAFM

LensAFM (Nanosurf)

Best suited to: Measuring a region you have already located optically, without moving the sample.

Typically runs in: Laboratories with an existing upright optical microscope or 3D profilometer they want to extend.

Mounts on the objective turret of an upright optical microscope or 3D profilometer
Rotate the turret to measure an optically located region at nanometre resolution
Returns 3D topography
Can also map electrical, magnetic and mechanical properties

What the site needs: A compatible upright optical microscope or 3D profilometer with a standard objective turret.

Full specification for LensAFM

Nanite (Nanosurf)

Best suited to: Integration into a custom stage, production line or existing setup.

Typically runs in: Industrial users measuring workpieces in place, and groups building AFM into a larger instrument.

One of the smallest AFM scan heads Nanosurf builds
Designed for integration into custom stages and production lines
Measures sub-nanometre surface roughness on workpieces that cannot be cut down
Handles concave and curved surfaces

What the site needs: A host stage or line, and integration engineering — which we scope as part of the project.

Full specification for Nanite

Alphacen 300 Flex (Nanosurf)

Best suited to: Samples too large or too heavy for a normal microscope stage.

Typically runs in: Industrial laboratories and quality departments measuring large components and awkward geometries.

Industrial AFM built around the Flex-Mount tip-scanning head
Dedicated acoustic enclosure cuts external noise
Extra translation or rotation axes can be added for awkward geometries
Handles samples that will not fit a conventional stage

What the site needs: Floor space for the enclosure and a stable industrial environment.

Full specification for Alphacen 300 Flex

Alphacen 300 Drive (Nanosurf)

Best suited to: 300 mm wafer metrology in semiconductor quality control.

Typically runs in: Semiconductor quality control and advanced metrology laboratories.

AFM metrology system for 300 mm wafers
Aimed at Ångström-level surface roughness and dimensional measurement
WaveMode photothermal off-resonance imaging raises line rate while holding tip sharpness
Wafer edge handling included

What the site needs: A cleanroom or controlled metrology environment with wafer handling in place.

Full specification for Alphacen 300 Drive

True of every option above

Supplied, installed and commissioned by Vvon engineers in Bangladesh
Site survey covering vibration, acoustic noise and temperature stability
Specification support during tender preparation
Applications training on handover, including probe selection and mode setup
Probes, holders and accessories supplied from the same catalogue
Annual and comprehensive maintenance contracts available

Tell us what the sample is, whether it can be cut down, and what environment the measurement has to happen in. Those three answers usually narrow the range to one or two instruments, and we would rather get that right than sell the largest system on the list.