Seiko Instruments Inc. (Abbreviation: SII; President, COO & CFO: Yukihiko Chayama; Head Office: 8, Nakase 1-chome, Mihama-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba; Tel: +81-43-211-1111) announced on September 9 the development of a new environment control type probe microscope (“E-Sweep” of the NanoNavi series) that measures the changes in surface properties at the time a test sample is changed within a continual temperature range, from the cooling stage to the heating stage.
In the scanning probe microscopy market, there is increasing demand for high-resolution measurement of topography and surface properties of various materials, including polymeric material such as rubber and plastic, inorganic material such as metal, glass and ceramic, and living tissue such as cells and bacteria. Significant material developments in recent years have resulted in the design and development of high-performance, high added-value material through the control of material surface properties (such as adhesiveness, wettability and wear and tear). Accurately identifying the microstructure and surface properties of the material has become increasingly critical in the advancement of material design.
In particular, in addition to the observation of topography and surface properties of material in various temperature environments, there is now high demand for quantitative evaluation of surface property changes in a continual temperature changing process. The new environment control type probe microscope “E-Sweep” was developed in response to such needs.
One of the new functions provided by this microscope is a transition temperature monitor function. This function achieves heat property analysis in nano orders which cannot be analyzed using the conventional heat analysis methods used for glass transition measurement, thereby enabling the measurement of the glass transition temperature of the components in a polymeric material created by blending multiple components in micron orders, the measurement of glass transition temperature in organic film of nano meter orders and the like. As a result, even material comprising a complex micron order structure can be analyzed and assessed more precisely and accurately, thereby further expanding the potential for high-performance and high added-value material design and development.
[Main Features]
1. Continual property measurement
E-Sweep continually monitors the thermal expansion levels of the test sample and system, thereby enabling automatic compensation. By keeping the probe tip in contact with the sample surface, the user can use the unit to continually measure the property changes associated with test sample temperature changes.
2. Extremely low drift structure
With a structural design that cancels the fluctuating motion of the test sample area, E-Sweep achieves a drift amount of 0.15 nm/sec, less than half the amount of conventional instruments.
3. Low probe approach vibration
E-Sweep features a built-in mechanism that reduces the amount of vibration as the probe tip nears the test sample surface so that damage to the probe tip upon contact with the test surface is alleviated, thus making high-resolution measurement possible.
4.Simple and easy test sample replacement
Due to a holder flange opening/closing mechanism, laser alignment to a cantilever during test sample replacement is no longer required.
[Sale price]
25 million yen
[Target yearly sales]
50 units
[Date of announcement]
September 9
Contact Information
Press Contact
Seiko Instruments Inc.
Corporate Strategy
Corporate Communications Dept.
Io
Fax:+81-43-211-8011
Product Inquiry
Seiko Instruments Inc.
Scientific Instruments Division
Sales Department
Morikage
TEL:+81-43-211-7974