Description

OSP – M470 – A technique for the M470 workstation

The Optical Surface Profiler option of BioLogic’s modular M470 scanning electrochemical workstation.

The Optical Surface Profiler (OSP) is a non-contact topography technique. In OSP light, specifically for the OSP470 a laser light is used to detect the height changes of a surface. Height changes of less than 1 µm to 10 mm are detectable using the OSP470. The OSP470 has been designed for use with the other modules available on the M470 system. The combination of the OSP measurement with other techniques is made easier by the ability to co-mount the OSP470 head with any of the electrochemical probes of the M470. Furthermore, the data measured from an OSP measurement can be used to perform constant distance measurements of the other techniques on the M470.

OSP can be used to determine the topography of any sample of interest. In material measurements, the M470 software can be used to determine the surface roughness parameters of a sample measured in an OSP experiment. When used in corrosion studies it can determine the topography of pitted samples, or allow coating thicknesses to be measured. In other fields such as sensor studies, OSP can be used to determine the height profile of the sample for use in constant height measurements.

 

 

Overview: An easy to set up, fast, non-destructive topography technique

• Fast: Area scans of >10,000 points measurable in minutes
• Non-destructive: There is no physical contact with the sample.
• Can be paired with other techniques

 

Fast, non-destructive topography technique

The OSP470 module provides the fastest topography measurement available on the M470 system. The use of the laser light to measure topography means the OSP measurement can be performed almost exclusively at high speeds in the sweep scan mode. In this way, full area scans of >10,000 data points can be measured in minutes. Just as important OSP is completely non-destructive with no physical contact made at any point during the measurement.

 

Can be used as the topography input for all M470 height tracking measurements

Many scanning probe electrochemistry techniques are distance-dependent. Therefore, for rough samples, or for samples with background tilt it can be difficult to maintain the strongest signal throughout the scan. One way to ensure the highest sensitivity throughout these scans is to perform a constant distance measurement using the height tracking capability. The area scans measured in OSP can be used in any height tracking measurement on the M470. This means users can quickly determine the topography of their sample in a non-destructive manner prior to making their electrochemical measurement of interest.