2017-02
Akiyama probe holder for magnetic layer deposition
The holder is used to hold commercially available Akiyama probes and provide the masking of it's electrical contacts during the magnetic layer deposition. It has 4 positions for probes fixing. The probes are hold in place with copper leaf springs that are attached by a screw at the back side of the holder. Above each probe is a bent phosphor bronze mask with a hole of ~1 mm in diameter, which covers a large part of the probe to avoid forming an electrical sort circuit. For the phosphor bronze masks, a special groove is formed, which is defined by the screw above, so that the plate can only move freely in the groove and we can set the exact position of the hole that can affect the area of the deposition. The phosphor bronze mask is moved in the vertical direction by means of screw and spring that pushes the mask away from the holder and we can set the position of the hole precisely there. The remaining part of the holder is covered with a phosphor bronze sheet, which is locked by two screws for easy handling, so that the remaining part of the ceramic plate of the probe is not deposited.
The holder can be used universally in multiple deposition devices that have different mounting mechanisms because it is variable and easy to fix.
This provides an easy way to turn commercially available self-sensing probes to probes with magnetic tip used for magnetic force microscopy.
