Dimension XR - A Scanning Probe Microscope

Bruker's Dimension XR scanning probe microscope (SPM) systems embody decades of research and technological advancement. With the ability to routinely achieve atomic defect resolution and a suite of distinctive technologies like PeakForce Tapping^®, DataCube modes, SECM, and AFM-nDMA, these systems offer unmatched performance and capability.

The Dimension XR SPM family integrates these technologies into ready-to-use solutions tailored for nanomechanical, nanoelectrical, and electrochemical applications. Quantifying materials and active nanoscale systems in various environments—be it air, fluid, electrical, or chemically reactive—has never been more straightforward.

Dimension XR delivers:

Complete hyperspectral nanoelectrical characterization forfunctional materials, semiconductors, and energy research.

Sub-100 nm electrochemical imaging forquantitative analysis of local electrochemical activity related to corrosion, fuel cells, and batteries.

Out-of-the-box nanomechanical analysisfor establishing a relationship between materialstructure and nanomechanical properties.

Features

Optimized Configurations for Advanced Research

XR Nanomechanics

XR Nanomechanics offers a spectrum of modes to thoroughly detect minute structures, achieving spatial resolution down to sub-molecular units of polymer chains. Researchers can correlate nanomechanics data with bulk DMA and nanoidentation methods using Bruker's exclusive AFM-nDMA^™ mode. This enables quantifiable nanoscale characterization ranging from soft, adhesive hydrogels and composites to rigid metals and ceramics.

XR Nanoelectrical

The Dimension XR Nanoelectrical configuration encompasses the widest range of electrical AFM techniques within a single system. Researchers can capture electrical spectra at every pixel, correlated with mechanical property measurements using Bruker's exclusive DataCube modes. This system enables the acquisition of previously unattainable information from a single measurement.

XR Nanoelectrochemical

The nanoelectrical configuration facilitates robust AFM-based scanning electrochemical microscopy (AFM-SECM) and electrochemical AFM (EC-AFM). Operators can obtain electrochemical information with a spatial resolution of less than 100 nm and conduct simultaneous mapping of electrochemical, electrical, and mechanical properties within a single system.

Highest Resolution for All Modes, All Environments

Dimension XR systems excel in achieving the highest resolution across all measurements, from pinpointing defects in liquid and creating stiffness maps to achieving atomic resolution in air and generating conductivity maps. They harness Bruker's proprietary PeakForce Tapping technology to meet performance benchmarks in both hard and soft matter, including crystal and molecular defect resolution in polymers.

This technology is equally effective in identifying the smallest asperities on roughened glass across numerous images. By integrating PeakForce Tapping with exceptional stability, innovative probe technology, and Bruker's extensive experience in tip scanning innovation, these systems consistently deliver the highest resolution imaging, regardless of sample size, weight, or medium, for any application.

Image Credit: Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology

Revolutionary AFM-nDMA

Image Credit: Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology

For the first time, an AFM can offer comprehensive and quantitative viscoelastic analysis of polymers at the nanoscale, examining materials at frequencies relevant to rheology within the linear regime. Through proprietary dual-channel detection, phase-drift correction, and reference frequency tracking, it enables small strain measurements in the rheologically significant range of 0.1 Hz to 20 kHz for nanoscale assessments of storage modulus, loss modulus, and loss tangent, directly linked to bulk DMA.

Proprietary DataCube Modes

These modes leverage FASTForce Volume to conduct a force-distance spectrum in every pixel, with a user-defined dwell time. By employing high data capture rates, numerous electrical measurements are executed during the dwell time, yielding electrical and mechanical spectra at each pixel. The DataCube modes offer comprehensive characterization in a single experiment, a feat unprecedented in commercial AFM.

A DCUBE-PFM measurement clearly shows the domains flipping at different potential levels for each discrete pixel on a BiFeO₃ thin film. Image Credit: Bruker Nano Surfaces

Dimension XR's DataCube modes provide multidimensional nanoscale information at every pixel, simultaneously capturing in a single measurement both electrical and mechanical characteristics. Image Credit: Bruker Nano Surfaces

Exclusive PeakForce SECM

With a spatial resolution of less than 100 nm, this mode revolutionizes the possibilities for visualizing electrical and chemical processes at the nanoscale in liquid environments. PeakForce SECM significantly enhances resolving power by orders of magnitude compared to traditional methods.

This breakthrough facilitates entirely new research avenues in energy storage systems, corrosion science, and biosensors, enabling novel measurements on individual nanoparticles, nanophases, and nanopores. Exclusively, PeakForce SECM enables the simultaneous acquisition of topographic, electrochemical, electrical, and mechanical maps with nanometer-scale lateral resolution.

(A) Bruker’s exclusive premounted PeakForce SECM probes offer easy and safe handling, as well as extremely stable performance over hours of imaging and multiple cleaning cycles. (B) SEM images of the probe; (C) COMSOL simulation of 10 mM [Ru(NH₃)₆]³⁺ profile; (D) 1st, 25th, and 50th CVs selected from 50 continuous scans at a scan rate of 20 mV/s; (E) 2-hour amperometric test at -0.1 V versus AgQRE, inset magnification from 70 to 120 min.; and (F) simulated (dashed lines) and experimental (solid lines) approaching curves. C and E. Image Credit: C. Xiang and Y. Chen, Caltech.

Powered by the NanoScope 6 AFM Controller

The NanoScope 6 controller offers increased speeds, reduced noise, and enhanced AFM mode flexibility, empowering users to unlock the full capabilities of Bruker's high-performance Dimension and MultiMode AFM systems. This state-of-the-art controller delivers unparalleled accuracy, precision, and adaptability for nanoscale surface measurements across all applications.

NanoScope 6 uniquely enables Bruker AFMs to:

Operate in a broader range of imaging modes compared to competing systems, encompassing unique and advanced AFM modes requiring intricate control and analysis.

Gather precise, quantitative data for nanoelectrical and nanomechanical property measurements across all applications.

Fine-tune and tailor scanning parameters to fulfill even the most rigorous research and industry measurement criteria.

Image Credit: Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology

Applications

Expand the Applications with AFM Modes

Image Credit: Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology

With an unparalleled range of imaging modes, Bruker offers an AFM technique suitable for any kind of inquiry.

Bruker provides AFM modes that enable users to probe the electrical, magnetic, or material properties of samples. These modes are based on the foundation of core imaging modes, contact mode and TappingMode. A new core imaging paradigm that has been integrated into multiple modes is represented by Bruker’s inventive PeakForce Tapping technology, which simultaneously provides data on topographic, electrical, and mechanical properties.