Thermal Image Processing

Suhas Somnath

This simple standalone Igor-Po procedure file facilitates simple routines for processing results from AFM topography imaging using silicon self-heating AFM cantilevers. It was mainly used for purposes such as:

• Characterizing sensitivity and resolution for thermal topography imaging performed on standardized square grating samples
• Scaling voltage values to nanometers once the sensitivity and resolution were known
• Inverting images when images were acquiring using resistance control
• Adding an offset to all values in a channel - great for centering at 0 V
• Simple edge filtering
• Flipping the image vertically
• Clipping artifacts (spikes) in the signals that would occur at sharp vertical edges of gratings by coercing the values to lie within a min and max
• Replacing the contents of a layer with data present in a text file (relevant if the data of interest was acquired using an alternate source such as a National Instruments Data Acquisition system but if the user prefers to use Asylum Research's / Igor Pro for further image analysis)
• Deconvolving the shape of the cantilever heater from the measured image. See this paper for more information.

Disclaimer

This code was developed from 2010 to 2012 for Asylum Research software versions of 090909. It may or may not work now

Journal papers using this software

1. Somnath, Suhas, Elise A. Corbin, and William P. King. "Improved nanotopography sensing via temperature control of a heated atomic force microscope cantilever." IEEE Sensors Journal 11, no. 11 (2011): 2664-2670.
2. Kim, Hoe Joon, Nicolaie Moldovan, Jonathan R. Felts, Suhas Somnath, Zhenting Dai, Tevis DB Jacobs, Robert W. Carpick, John A. Carlisle, and William P. King. "Ultrananocrystalline diamond tip integrated onto a heated atomic force microscope cantilever." Nanotechnology 23, no. 49 (2012): 495302.
3. Lee, Byeonghee, Suhas Somnath, and William P. King. "Fast nanotopography imaging using a high speed cantilever with integrated heater–thermometer." Nanotechnology 24, no. 13 (2013): 135501.
4. Somnath, Suhas, and William P. King. "Heated atomic force cantilever closed loop temperature control and application to high speed nanotopography imaging." Sensors and Actuators A: Physical 192 (2013): 27-33.
5. Liu, Joseph O., Suhas Somnath, and William P. King. "Heated atomic force microscope cantilever with high resistivity for improved temperature sensitivity." Sensors and Actuators A: Physical 201 (2013): 141-147.
6. Somnath, Suhas, Hoe Joon Kim, Huan Hu, and William P. King. "Parallel nanoimaging and nanolithography using a heated microcantilever array." Nanotechnology 25, no. 1 (2013): 014001.
7. Seong, Myunghoon, Suhas Somnath, Hoe Joon Kim, and William P. King. "Parallel nanoimaging using an array of 30 heated microcantilevers." RSC Advances 4, no. 47 (2014): 24747-24754.
8. Somnath, Suhas, and William P. King. "An investigation of heat transfer between a microcantilever and a substrate for improved thermal topography imaging." Nanotechnology 25, no. 36 (2014): 365501.
9. Somnath, Suhas, Joseph O. Liu, Mete Bakir, Craig B. Prater, and William P. King. "Multifunctional atomic force microscope cantilevers with Lorentz force actuation and self-heating capability." Nanotechnology 25, no. 39 (2014): 395501.