LabVIEW controlled atomic force microscopy for remote nanoelectronics laboratory

Design and implementation of a remotely controlled online (internet-based) experiment on thin film characterization for nanotechnology laboratory using atomic force microscope (AFM) is reported. Based on a commercially available low-cost AFM (Model NanoSurf EasyScan2) and National Instruments (NI) LabVIEW graphical programming environment, we have developed the remote-controlled AFM measurement system. The system is available online for use by the geographically distributed students to share and run experiments via standard web browsers. The infrastructure for the nanoelectronics laboratory is described and applications of this infrastructure to nanoelectronics education are discussed. Students and researchers could benefit by sharing the AFM through internet.