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Answer: MFM Probes vary in design and application. As a guideline, consider the following: MESP probes have a Co alloy coating with a Magnetic moment of approximately 10 Λ-13 emu. They are approximately 400 Oe coercivity and can resolve laterally, in MFM, to around 30nm. They are a good all-purpose magnetic probe and have a good balance of resolution to phase sensitivity. They can be realigned in-situ if used in high Oe applications such as active writer characterization or on very high moment samples, such as NeBFe. They are used generally in data storage applications.
MESP-LM (Low Moment) probes are roughly 1/3 the magnetic moment of standard MESP tips. They are approximately 400 Oe coercivity and have a thinner coating, so may offer higher resolution at the expense of sensitivity (phase contrast).
MESP-HM (High Moment) probes are roughly 3 times the magnetic moment of standard MESP probes. They are approximately 400 Oe coercivity and have a much thicker coating. They produce images with higher phase contrast at the expense of lateral resolution.
MESP-LC (Low Coercivity) probes have an equal or lower magnetic moment than the standard MESP probes. They are, 1-8 Oe coercivity and are a good probe choice if magnetic sample perturbation due to stray magnetic field is a concern. These probes are likely to realign themselves with stronger samples and hence will show attracting magnetic properties instead of attracting and repulsing properties.
MESP-RC probes have an approximately equal magnetic moment to the standard MESP probes. They have 1-8 Oe coercivity. They are a good all-purpose magnetic probe and have a good balance of resolution to phase sensitivity like the MESP. These probes are much stiffer than the MESP giving a slighter cleaner phase signal on samples with sufficient magnetic response.
Answer: Generally probe artifacts can manifest themselves several ways. The following are some of the more common ones.
Multiple feature artifacts: Caused by broken, chipped or contaminated tips. Effectively you have two or more probe tips scanning the surface simultaneously. Some or all features may appear as multiple features, sometimes with different height and spacing.
Low resolution artifacts. Can be caused by wear or contamination on the probe that effectively blunts the tip. This causes incorrect surface roughness measurements, resulting in lower RA values as well as overall poorer lateral resolution.