Modularized SPM-controller based on an FPGA for combined AFM and SMM measurements

This paper presents the design and implementation of a hardware/software controller system for combined atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning microwave microscopy (SMM) measurements. The purpose of the system is to connect and control existing components (e. g. any AFM scanner and vector network analyzer (VNA)), thus enhancing their functionality. Therefore, the system is of highly modular design. The base board offers multiple slots with a predefined piggy-back interface for different I/O components like digital-to-analog converters (DAC). Instead of hardwiring the overall connections, an field programmable gate array (FPGA) is used. An evaluation shows the superiority of the system in comparison to the state-of-the-art, despite the early stage of development.