© ICSPI Corp. 2007-2021
nGauge AFM User Manual 2.0
47
7.2.2.
Frequency Sweep is Cut Off
The frequency sweep is flat above 3.3 V. This occurs if the Cantilever Drive Amplitude is too
high. Different chips may require different Cantilever Drive Amplitude settings.
Click on
Show Advanced Controls
and decrease the
Cantilever Drive Amplitude
. In this
example, it is set to 55% and is too high. Decrease the value and click on
Sweep
. Continue to
change the
Cantilever Drive Amplitude
and re-
Sweep
until you are satisfied.
7.2.3.
Inspecting AFM Chips
If the frequency sweep continues to be noisy after tightening the thumb nut, use an optical
microscope to inspect the AFM chip. If you do not have an optical microscope, you can use a
smartphone camera.
Look for a large “waffle” structure at the end of the chip. If there is a waffle structure, then the
chip should work. If the waffle structure is missing, the chip is broken and can be discarded.