Brian Francisco, Mechanical Engineering
“Unlocking the material sensing abilities of the Atomic Force Microscope at UNH”
The goal of this summer research fellowship is to achieve calibration of the material sensing ability of the Atomic Force Microscope in use at the University of New Haven. The purpose of this project will be to use the AFM to determine certain physical properties of a material being analyzed. Physical and material properties to be tested include Young’s Modulus of Elasticity, Bulk Modulus, surface hardness and surface roughness. When known materials are analyzed, the results of the testing can be saved and added to a database of recorded material properties. After enough of this ‘calibration’ with several different materials, the AFM should be able to tell the user what material is being analyzed.
