Gregorat Leonardo, Cautero Marco, Carrato Sergio, Giuressi Dario, Panighel Mirco, Cautero Giuseppe, Esch Friedrich
DIA (Dipartimento di Ingegneria e Architettura), University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy.
Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A. Science Park, Strada Statale 14, km 163.5, 34149 Basovizza, Italy.
Sensors (Basel). 2024 Sep 21;24(18):6108. doi: 10.3390/s24186108.
Atomic-scale imaging using scanning probe microscopy is a pivotal method for investigating the morphology and physico-chemical properties of nanostructured surfaces. Time resolution represents a significant limitation of this technique, as typical image acquisition times are on the order of several seconds or even a few minutes, while dynamic processes-such as surface restructuring or particle sintering, to be observed upon external stimuli such as changes in gas atmosphere or electrochemical potential-often occur within timescales shorter than a second. In this article, we present a fully redesigned field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based instrument that can be integrated into most commercially available standard scanning probe microscopes. This instrument not only significantly accelerates the acquisition of atomic-scale images by orders of magnitude but also enables the tracking of moving features such as adatoms, vacancies, or clusters across the surface ("atom tracking") due to the parallel execution of sophisticated control and acquisition algorithms and the fast exchange of data with an external processor. Each of these measurement modes requires a complex series of operations within the FPGA that are explained in detail.
使用扫描探针显微镜进行原子尺度成像，是研究纳米结构表面形态和物理化学性质的关键方法。时间分辨率是该技术的一个重大限制，因为典型的图像采集时间在几秒甚至几分钟的量级，而诸如表面重构或颗粒烧结等动态过程（这些过程在诸如气体气氛或电化学势变化等外部刺激下会被观察到）通常发生在短于一秒的时间尺度内。在本文中，我们展示了一种完全重新设计的基于现场可编程门阵列（FPGA）的仪器，它可以集成到大多数市售的标准扫描探针显微镜中。该仪器不仅将原子尺度图像的采集速度显著提高了几个数量级，还能由于复杂控制和采集算法的并行执行以及与外部处理器的快速数据交换，实现对表面上移动特征（如吸附原子、空位或团簇）的跟踪（“原子跟踪”）。这些测量模式中的每一种都需要在FPGA内进行一系列复杂操作，本文将对此进行详细解释。
