Abstract

AFM-SEPM probe tips and cantilevers contaminated by adhering sample constituents are known to produce a variety of image artifacts. especially "ghosts". In the case of particulate contaminants, a simple and effective procedure for probe recovery is ultrasonic cleaning, using a short exposure (5 min) of the soiled probes to 90 watts of 40 kHz ultrasound within a cleaning bath filled with bi-distilled, de-ionized water. Tip cleaning and recovery are demonstrated using two criteria: the cantilever frequency spectrum and the elimination of ghosts from the images of well-known samples. In some cases, the cleaning procedure has to be repeated, to achieve satisfactory results. This procedure allowed the recovery of many tens of tips without causing probe damage, in this laboratory.