Science and Technology bachelor’s degree students will be able to use the AFM at graduation for high-precision studies and research
Students from Ilum School of Science at CNPEM (Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials) now have at their disposal another Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Compared to the educational AFMs already available at the institution, the new equipment offers precision and sensitivity, ensuring more robust and reliable data. Considered one of the world’s most powerful microscopes, the equipment scans surfaces with nanometric precision, in addition to performing advanced measurements of mechanical, electrical and magnetic properties of the analyzed material.
As an example, the following photo shows a chip that is 0.7 centimeters high and 0.5 centimeters wide (approximately the size of a bean).
At first glance, it looks like just a silicon wafer, but when we look at it under a traditional microscope, it is possible to clearly see emoji designs, which are on the object’s surface, with the use of a lens that increases viewing capacity 50 times. But, next to it we have the image generated by AFM. The textures and clarity of the smallest details revealed in the material are impressive. The equipment is capable of carrying out a three-dimensional mapping of each emoji measuring less than 13 micrometers in size, the equivalent of 0.0013 centimeters wide and 0.35 micrometers deep. The diameter of a strand of hair is 7 to 9 times larger than the emoji drawn on the chip.
At first glance, it looks like just a silicon wafer, but when we look at it under a traditional microscope, it is possible to clearly see emoji designs, which are on the object’s surface, with the use of a lens that increases viewing capacity 50 times. But, next to it we have the image generated by AFM. The textures and clarity of the smallest details revealed in the material are impressive. The equipment is capable of carrying out a three-dimensional mapping of each emoji measuring less than 13 micrometers in size, the equivalent of 0.0013 centimeters wide and 0.35 micrometers deep. The diameter of a strand of hair is 7 to 9 times larger than the emoji drawn on the chip.
About Ilum
Ilum offers a free undergraduate degree program that utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to train scientists and professionals in science and technology. With an innovative educational model, the three-year full-time bachelor program offers courses that connect life sciences, materials science, data science, artificial intelligence, and the humanities in order to prepare researchers to work in an ethical and collaborative manner in the search for solutions to the global challenges of the twenty-first century. The Ilum School of Science is funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) and is part of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, São Paulo, a social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI). Ilum’s educational mission offers early contact with experimental activities, in teaching labs at the school as well as at CNPEM, in projects carried out together with researchers.
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM’s research and development activities are carried out through its four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as its Technology Unit (DAT) and the Ilum School of Science — an undergraduate program in Science and Technology supported by the Ministry of Education (MEC).
