Optics 11 Life Piuma Nanoindenter
The Optics11 Life Piuma soft materials nanoindenter uses cantilever-based nanoindentation (similar to AFM force curves) to determine the Young’s modulus of samples ranging from a few tens of Pascals to 1 GPa. The Piuma is generally more user-friendly and versatile to work with than a traditional AFM, especially for biological samples, without compromising data quality. Operation in air or fluid and automated grids of indentations are simple to set up. Probes are constructed with spherical borosilicate glass tips ranging from 6 – 500 µm diameter (similar to colloidal probe AFM design).
(Please inquire in advance whether your samples satisfy the biosafety level requirements of the MRL).
Sample Conditions Supported by the Piuma:
- Dry, Wet, or Submerged in Liquid
- Size range: From 100 µm diameter to 12 mm on a side
- Shape: Flat, curved, complex topography, porous
- Young’s Modulus / Stiffness range: 5 Pa to 1 GPa
Piuma Technical Specifications
- Probe Tip Sizes: 6 – 500 µm diameter borosilicate spheres
- Probe Cantilever Spring Constant: k = 0.03 N/m – 150 N/m
- Force Sensitivity Range: 1 nN – 2 mN
- Maximum Piezo Motor Displacement: 20 µm
- Stage Motors (X,Y,and Z-axes): 1 µm minimum, 12 mm maximum displacement
- Single Indentation or Surface Mapping
- Automated Find Surface
- Measurement Mode: Quasi-Static (Closed Loop Piezo Motor Displacement)
- Camera: 10x magnification, overhead view
- Related Research Techniques
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