New AFM Built Inside Quantum Design OptiCool

“…proved to be the system with the best stability”

This AFM image was taken inside an OptiCool at 200 K and 6.6 T. The AFM is part of the s-SNOM built by Mengkun Liu and his research group at Stony Brook University, New York. This image demonstrates the low noise and low acceleration environment inside the OptiCool.

“We were looking for a closed-cycle magneto-optical cryostat that is capable of performing atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning optical near-field microscopy (s-SNOM) in high magnetic field. OptiCool proved to be the system with the best stability which provides sub-nm vibrations for cyrogenic scanning probe measurements while still offering excessive access to external light. This brings us infinitely new possibilities for our research. Our lab now hosts two OptiCool systems (as of 2022)- one for infrared magneto-SNOM and one for terahertz magneto-SNOM.”

Mengkun Liu, Stony Brook University

Ultrafast & Near-field Infrared Laboratory (UNI- Lab)

Low energy photons for quantum phenomena

Mengkun (MK)  Liu Group

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The OptiCool® by Quantum Design is an optical cryostat using an innovative design that puts the sample volume in the heart of your optical environment. A custom 3.8 inch bore, split-coil, conical magnet offers fields perpendicular to the optical table up to ±7 tesla. The highly integrated design means, even with a magnet, your sample isn’t buried inside a large cryostat, far away from the optics. Seven side optical ports and one top optical port allow for optical access to your sample from a wide array of directions.