Presentation at the APS March 2021 Meeting by Shannon GhorbaniThis presentation will give an overview of what a nanopositioning system is, and more importantly, how this versatile tool can be used across a range of physics applications.Nanopositioners are widely used as stand-alone devices and as component parts of larger nanoscale instrumentation. We provide the example of building a DIY atomic force microscope with atomic step resolution and the use of nanopositioners for single molecule localization microscopy.

The Nano-Cyte® from Mad City Labs is a stabilization system that eliminates the microscope drift that limits advanced fluorescence imaging methods. With Nano-Cyte® you no longer need to be concerned with temperature gradients, sample drift, and microscope drift. Unprecedented stability in the nanometer regime allows long term experiments as never before.
Advantages: • 3D stabilization up to 3 nanometers • Active stabilization over days • Corrects for temperature gradients and drift • Simultaneous image acquisition and stabilization • Particle tracking capability • Integrated hardware and software • Microscope platform independent • exportable DLL • ability to load pre-existing calibrations • 3D localization with output to text files • 3D rendering with output to AVI video • support for camera binning

Presentation given at the BPS 2021 Meeting by William O. Hancock describing the design and application of two multi-modal microscopes built around the Mad City Labs RM21® single molecule microscope.
The first system combines Interferometric Scattering (iSCAT) microscopy with Total Internal Reflection Dark-Field (TIRDM). These tools have the potential to be applied broadly to single-molecule studies to increase the temporal resolution beyond what is traditionally accessible by fluorescence, while still maintaining the spatial resolution provided by point-spread function fitting.
The second system combines Interference Reflection Microscopy (IRM) to image cellulose micro- and nanofibers with TIRF to simultaneously image fluorescently-labeled cellulase enzymes degrading the cellulose.

This video describes how to implement a diving bell concept for imaging samples in liquid using a resonant probe AFM. We use a MadPLL phase lock loop controller and an AFM diving bell kit from Mad City Labs.

This video describes how to install and align a new probe into Mad City Labs MCL-NSOM near-field scanning optical microscope.

Using Mad City Labs Nano-Route®3D software, the piezo nanopositioning system can be commanded to move to create a Z-Stack image.

Resonant probes for atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be created using shattered silicon wafers. We describe how to create silicon shards and then attach them to a quartz tuning fork for use in an AFM. The original method was described by F.J. Giessibl et. al.

Setting up Mad City Labs nanopositioning systems and micropositioners in Micro-Manager software

We describe how to use Mad City Labs SPM Etch kit to produce tungsten tips for atomic force microscopy (AFM). The tungsten tips are attached to quartz tuning forks for use in a resonant probe AFM.

AFMView™2 software is designed for use with Mad City Labs MadPLL® phase lock loop controller to acquire AFM images. The AFMView™2 software calibrates the MadPLL® so it can drive and sense a resonant AFM probe, and controls the XY motion of the nanopositioning system while recording the Z sensor data to produce real-time images and an exportable data file.

Nano-Route®3D is motion control software for Mad City Labs closed loop nanopositioning systems. It allows the user to specify motion paths for each axis. This video demonstrates how to create paths using delays, ramps and time-based functions. The software also shows how to log the real time displacement of the piezo nanopositioner.

AFM Video Tutorial: AFM Instrument Assembly - Assemble a low cost, high performance Atomic Force Microscope with Mad City Labs nanopositioning systems, MadPLL™ instrument package, and standard optical components. Easy assembly from start to finish in under 30 minutes!

Shannon Ghorbani of Mad City Labs describes the challenges of commanding and resolving single picometer steps. High resolution positioning is important for applications as diverse as quantum sensing, astronomy, and microscopy