Author: matt.williams

Atomic force microscopes (AFM) offer atomic-scale resolution for imaging applications in life sciences and materials research.

But AFM’s often come with a very expensive price tag – which can make it a challenge for scientists to afford this technology in these days of shrinking research budgets.

Earlier this month, our partners at Asylum Research introduced a high performance solution that expands the reach of atomic force microscopes to researchers with limited budgets for imaging instrumentation. This new AFM eliminates some of the more advanced accessories and features of the high-end models without sacrificing core performance.

“This is in stark contrast to some competitors who have taken old technology and repackaged it as entry-level AFMs with lower performance,” says Ben Ohler, AFM Business Manager, in an Asylum Research news release. “(This model) is based on the technology-leading MFP-3D AFM, known for closed-loop precision, high-resolution imaging, and low-noise force measurements.”

This model – the MFP-3D Origin – is great news for the AFM research community. It offers far more than just the basic scan modes that you’d expect in a more affordable model and it includes many advanced modes such as nanolithography, Dual AC Mode and piezoresponse force microscopy.

Like the higher-performance model it’s based on, it can be used for a variety of applications in material science, physics, data storage and semiconductors, polymers, chemistry, biomaterials and bioscience. The MFP-3D can be used for single molecule mechanical experiments on DNA, protein unfolding and polymer elasticity, as well as force measurements on biomaterials and polymers.

Until now, purchasing a lower cost AFM meant sacrificing resolution, scan speed, or the availability of sophisticated imaging modes. With the advent of the Origin from Asylum Research, a limited budget does not translate into limited research.

Please contact us and speak to one of our sales representatives to request a quote or more information on any of our products.

While we’re always looking to partner with new principals and suppliers who allow us to bring innovative and exclusive products to our customers, we’re particularly interested in working with principals and suppliers who go the extra mile for their customers.

Those that do, offer an unparalleled level of support to their customers – in other words, to you, our customers. This is a measure in the confidence they have in their products. And by partnering with them, we can solidly stand behind the state-of-the-art instruments we sell for use in today’s modern research facilities.

One of these principals is Asylum Research, the technology leader in atomic force and scanning probe microscopy (AFM/SPM) for both materials and bioscience applications. Atomic force microscopy is a technique for analyzing the surface of a rigid material all the way down to the atom level and scanning probe microscopy provides images of surfaces using a physical probe to scan specimens. Both forms of microscopy involve precise measurement and calculation and the absolute certainty that the instruments being used perform exactly as expected.

As such, Asylum Research offers a five-year warranty on every one of its instruments. This type of warranty commitment is unique in the industry. And this kind of commitment keeps us at SRC on the cutting edge of high resolution imaging technology, backed by a guarantee that if an innovative technology doesn’t work exactly as it should, it will be made right for you.