The ASC500 uses a dedicated hardware with a 4 MHz scan generator to create the voltages necessary for the raster motion. Further features are:

• software rotation of the field of view
• slope and drift compensation
• fully software integrated control
• LabVIEW™ interface

The z scanner output is controlled by a digital PI algorithm with a bandwidth of 50 kHz. The z output DAC has a resolution of 18 bit, yielding a 4 pm resolution on a 1 µm scan range.

• highly versatile; all signal channels can be used as control inputs
• physical units of PI gain
• setpoint modulation for PI fine tuning
• inversion of feedback gain
• inversion of output polarity

The ASC500 now supports closed loop scanning at low temperatures as an upgrade option. With different sensors closed loop positioning ranges up to 5 mm are possible with extremely high resolution. This unique concept provides not only compensation of scan non-linearities, but also full repeatability/recovery of positions over the full coarse range with nm resolution. Switching back and forth between different hot spots on the complete sample has never been easier. The ASC500 is fully compatible with the FPS3010/FPS 19“.

The ASC500 also offers a lithography mode. Any geometrical shape composed from convex polygons and single dots can be scanned with full control over scan speeds and line spacings for each shape unit. Shape definition is done via text files for full flexibility. Furthermore, a shutter can be controlled via TTL pulses for each shape unit. Lithography can operate in both open and closed loop mode.

• scanning of arbitrary shapes composed from polygons and dots
• full speed control for each shape unit
• very flexible shape definition
• shutter controller via TTL

The outstanding input and output capabilities of the ASC500 are the key to highest precision measurements. Its analog-digital converters use state-of-the-art hardware with lowest possible noise. On-board preamplifiers and switchable low-pass filtering allow for maximum signal-to-noise ratio. The high frequency in- and output section of the ASC500 allows for sophisticated measurement concepts. Additional features include:

• oversampling and offset compensation
• analog modulation inputs for the most important channels
• 6 ADC inputs with 400 kS/s, 18 bit
• 2  high frequency ADC inputs with 50 MS/s, 16 bit
• 4 DAC outputs with 200 kS/s, 16 bit
• software defineable transfer function

The ASC500 provides full control over the Q factor of any driven oscillator system by means of electronic Q control. The natural Q factor can be varied by typically more than one order of magnitude in each direction.
Benefits are:

• to gain sensitivity due to increased Q factor
• to gain scan speed in ultra-high Q setups by reducing the Q factor
• to use well-known room temperature scan parameters also for low temperature         experiments with help of Q reduction

A fully digital phase-locked loop is implemented into the ASC500. It uses the high frequency inputs / outputs with 50 MHz bandwidth. A high-speed Lock-In demodulator and two PI control loops are used to control the amplitude of an oscillator and to follow any resonance shifts. The frequency resolution is below 0.2 μHz in a range of 1 kHz up to 2 MHz. Therefore, it is possible to gain access to a direct measurement of force gradients by means of measuring ∆f. Besides, all all data streams in the PLL chain are accessible for a deeper analysis.

• AFM: contact mode, amplitude modulation, frequency modulation (PLL)
• Conducting-tip AFM
• MFM: constant height (with tilt correction), dual pass mode
• Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM)
• Kelvin Probe Microscopy (KPFM; optional upgrade)
• Scanning Hall Probe Microscopy
• Confocal Microscopy: constant height, point/path/grid mode spectros copy
• Scanning Gate Microscopy (SGM)
• STM: constant height (with tilt correction), constant current

Collection of data is the most important task in every experiment. The ASC500 was built to give the user every possibility to view, process, and save all data streams. Data can be visualized in 1D, 2D, or 3D displays. Furthermore, the ASC500 features are:

• real-time FFT calculation
• full control over all raw and processed data
• global snapshot functionality: a user definable collection of data can be saved with only one mouse click
• saving of parameters in a text file

The LabVIEW™ interface provides full control over all ASC500  features with the following benefits:

• measurement automatization
• user-defined experiments
• easy integration with 3rd party instrumentation

The full package of LabVIEW™ drivers is included in every unit at no extra price.

The ASC500 features advanced spectroscopy techniques such as z spectroscopy and bias voltage spectroscopy. These measurements are supported by an internal Lock-In and a limiter functionality which drastically reduces the likelihood of a tip crash. Spectroscopy measurements can be automatically triggered on line, grid, or point-by-point paths. Combinations of spectroscopies can be defined in action lists.