A testing device for testing adhesion force includes a thermal insulated glove box, an atomic force microscope, a cryogenic sample stage, a high pressure gas source and a circulating chiller. The atomic force microscope includes a probe for adhering mineral particles. The cryogenic sample stage is configured for preparing gas hydrate sample. The cryogenic sample stage is arranged below the probe. The atomic force microscope and the cryogenic sample stage are placed in the thermal insulated glove box. The high pressure gas source provides pressure required for synthesis of gas hydrates, the high pressure gas source comprises a high pressure chamber covered on the cryogenic sample stage and a high pressure gas cylinder connected with the high pressure chamber. The circulating chiller, an outlet of the circulating chiller is connected with the thermal insulated glove box to control humidity and temperature inside the thermal insulated glove box.

A method of assembling a group of devices, the method comprising the steps of: evacuating a space between each component of a first group of two or more components on a source device and a transfer device thereby to create a temporary bond between each component of the first group of two or more components and the transfer device; selectively removing the first group of two or more components from the source device whilst the transfer device is temporarily bonded to each component of the first group of two or more components on the source device; positioning the first group of two or more components on a host device; and decoupling the first group of two or more components from the transfer device, thereby to form a first group of assembled devices.

A method of assembling a group of devices, the method comprising the steps of: evacuating a space between each component of a first group of two or more components on a source device and a transfer device thereby to create a temporary bond between each component of the first group of two or more components and the transfer device; selectively removing the first group of two or more components from the source device whilst the transfer device is temporarily bonded to each component of the first group of two or more components on the source device; positioning the first group of two or more components on a host device; and decoupling the first group of two or more components from the transfer device, thereby to form a first group of assembled devices.

A method of forming a micropattern, a substrate surface inspection apparatus, a cantilever set for an atomic force microscope, and a method of analyzing a surface of a semiconductor substrate, and a probe tip the method including forming pinning patterns on a semiconductor substrate; forming a neutral pattern layer in spaces between the pinning patterns; and inspecting a surface of a guide layer that includes the pinning patterns and the neutral pattern layer by using an atomic force microscope (AFM).

A method of forming a micropattern, a substrate surface inspection apparatus, a cantilever set for an atomic force microscope, and a method of analyzing a surface of a semiconductor substrate, and a probe tip the method including forming pinning patterns on a semiconductor substrate; forming a neutral pattern layer in spaces between the pinning patterns; and inspecting a surface of a guide layer that includes the pinning patterns and the neutral pattern layer by using an atomic force microscope (AFM).

Disclosed is a method for detecting toxic metal ions in a sample. The method includes: a) preparing a solution of organic acid-bound gold nanoparticles; b) adding a sample containing toxic metal ions to the solution prepared in a) to allow the gold nanoparticles to aggregate; c) dropping the reaction solution obtained in b) onto a silicon substrate and drying the reaction solution such that the gold nanoparticle aggregates are immobilized on the silicon substrate; and d) analyzing the characteristics of the gold nanoparticles immobilized on the silicon substrate. The method enables the detection of even a trace amount of toxic metal ions in a sample with high sensitivity. Therefore, the method can be applied to the management of water quality in food service providers and hospitals, the measurement of contaminants in water supply and drainage systems, and the management of industrial wastewater. Furthermore, the method is expected to be widely applicable to water purifiers and the food and beverage industry in the future.

A method for commanding a tip of a probe is disclosed, wherein a command signal, representative of the force applied by said tip on the surface of a sample to be analyzed, includes at least one cycle successively defined by: a first step where the value of said command signal decreases from a maximum value (Smax) to a minimum value (Smin) so as to move said tip away from said surface at a predetermined distance called detachment height; a second step where the value of the command signal is maintained constant at said minimum value so as to maintain the tip at said detachment height; a third step where the value of the command signal increases from the minimum value up to said maximum value so as to bring the tip closer towards the surface to be analyzed until the tip comes into contact with the surface; and a fourth step where the value of the command signal is maintained constant at said maximum value to maintain the tip in contact with the surface to be analyzed under a constant force between the tip and the surface to be analyzed; the command signal being controlled between two successive steps to avoid any oscillation of the tip.

A method for commanding a tip of a probe is disclosed, wherein a command signal, representative of the force applied by said tip on the surface of a sample to be analyzed, includes at least one cycle successively defined by: a first step where the value of said command signal decreases from a maximum value (Smax) to a minimum value (Smin) so as to move said tip away from said surface at a predetermined distance called detachment height; a second step where the value of the command signal is maintained constant at said minimum value so as to maintain the tip at said detachment height; a third step where the value of the command signal increases from the minimum value up to said maximum value so as to bring the tip closer towards the surface to be analyzed until the tip comes into contact with the surface; and a fourth step where the value of the command signal is maintained constant at said maximum value to maintain the tip in contact with the surface to be analyzed under a constant force between the tip and the surface to be analyzed; the command signal being controlled between two successive steps to avoid any oscillation of the tip.

The atomic force microscope has evolved from purely a qualitative apparatus that measures the topography of a sample into a quantitative tool that also measures mechanical properties of a sample at the nanoscale. Prior technologies that attempt to measure the bulk parameters must characterize the geometry of the atomic force microscope cantilever tip in a separate experiment before being able to measure the mechanical properties of the sample. This is the single biggest obstruction to the accuracy and expediency of quantitative atomic force microscopy methodologies. Present techniques are also unable to probe the full set of viscoelastic properties of a material as they do not include any method to measure the damping of samples. We propose a method herein that simultaneously circumvents the need for a separate experiment to characterize the tip geometry and measures the full set of viscoelastic properties of a material.

The atomic force microscope has evolved from purely a qualitative apparatus that measures the topography of a sample into a quantitative tool that also measures mechanical properties of a sample at the nanoscale. Prior technologies that attempt to measure the bulk parameters must characterize the geometry of the atomic force microscope cantilever tip in a separate experiment before being able to measure the mechanical properties of the sample. This is the single biggest obstruction to the accuracy and expediency of quantitative atomic force microscopy methodologies. Present techniques are also unable to probe the full set of viscoelastic properties of a material as they do not include any method to measure the damping of samples. We propose a method herein that simultaneously circumvents the need for a separate experiment to characterize the tip geometry and measures the full set of viscoelastic properties of a material.