Results

For most scans, the sample is half covered, half exposed. This allows us to take images of the same piece exposed and unexposed. This is useful for seeing any differences in the surface.

On the left are images of an exposed sample, on the right are unexposed or covered areas. Each set is from the same sample, so that if a microscope was acting up on a particular day, that image is compared only to an image with similar microscope issues.

November 8th: The covered area here does seem to be clearer, but that may be from microscope interference at that time. Also, the exposed image was taken right on the edge of the sample, due to the positioning of the alpha-particle "shield", as it took up most of the surface.

November 9th: This is a smaller scan size, down to 4.9 micrometers from around 10um. The interference towards the end of the left scan happens relatively often on the AFM. The cause is not really known, but it seems to be tip drift or outside interference. We strive to keep the area around the microscope as isolated as possible, but a truck passing or a person walking in the lab can still effect a scan.

November 23rd: The exposed image again has more interference than the covered area. Towards the end of the scanned area, another drop-off is visible, causing me to stop the scan prematurely.

In these images, the exposed seems to have more interference and abnormal terrain than the covered. These images were selected as being a best case scenario of sorts, as they appeared to have the most interference of the batch of images. Although the idea of cratering due to the alpha-particles is not necessarily at the head of the research anymore, the bombardment certainly seems to have some effect on the sample.