Low temperature magnetic force microscope with simple design.

We present a new design for a magnetic force microscope that will operate at variable temperatures down to liquid helium in fields up to 8 Tesla. As with our previous designs, the temperature/field design goals are achieved most efficiently by maintaining everything within a one-inch cylinder.[Rev. Sci. Instrum. 78, 053710 (2007)] Unlike other designs, this one has an open architecture that results in simplified machining, assembly, modification/repair, and daily operation. The new microscope has three homemade stick-slip stages that provide several millimeters of relative travel between tip and sample.