Dual AFMs installed at CSI, Technische Universität Darmstadt

Asylum Research announced that it has installed a dual system order for a Cypher™ AFM and MFP-3D-SA™ AFM at the Cluster of Excellence ‘Smart Interfaces’ (CSI), Technische Universität Darmstadt in Germany in the lab of Professor Robert Stark, new professor for Physics of Surfaces in the Materials and Earth Sciences Department, and Dr Elmar Bonaccurso, head of the new young researcher group, Experimental Interface Physics in Mechanical Engineering. At the CSI, fluid-surface interfaces are investigated over nine length scales – from airplane wings to molecular and atomic interactions. The CSI group will use the Asylum AFM to probe fluid-surface interactions at the nanometer scale, matching this to the latest advances in atomic and molecular dynamic flow theory.

Professor Stark explained: "We plan to investigate time-resolved atomic and molecular processes in liquids to gain a deeper insight and understanding of boundary dynamics. The ultimate goal of this highly interdisciplinary approach is to design the molecular boundary for benefits in the macroscopic world. The Asylum Research AFMs allow us to obtain the complete picture, from elasticity and material properties through high-speed, time-resolved atomic and molecular process imaging in liquids. We are very pleased with the possibilities offered by this advanced instrumentation and are also looking forward to working closely with the competent teams at Asylum Research and Atomic Force.” Dr Lars Niemann, Research Coordinator at the CSI, added: "As a fairly young research institute, it was important for us to purchase only the best instrumentation available, both to attract the best researchers and to ensure immediate scientific competitiveness – as such Asylum Research was a natural choice.”

Benjamin Holmes, Sales Manager at our European subsidiary Atomic Force F&E GmbH, commented: "From starring in the fictional CSI Miami television show to being chosen by the CSI Darmstadt, once again Asylum Research AFMs are confirmed as the best instruments for all investigations. Clearly, modern atomic force microscopy is too broad an area for one size fits all, and that’s why we at Atomic Force F&E are really pleased by the research synergies that the Cypher and the MFP-3D offer. Any cutting-edge laboratory is ideally served with the speed and performance of Cypher and the flexibility of the MFP-3D. We are seeing a clear trend toward multi-instrument facilities and, thanks to our unique research-oriented approach, no company is better placed to serve these requirements than Asylum Research."