Introduction

The Intermodulation Products AFM Software Suite (AFM Suite) from Intermodulation Products AB is a collection of software tools for performing Intermodulation Atomic Force Microscopy (ImAFM™) – a powerful quantitative surface analysis method. This manual explains how to use the IMP Suite through its Graphical User Interface (GUI). The manual is used most effectively when the IMP Suite is open and running, taking data with your host AFM or analyzing already scanned data.

Conventions and useful tips

help_icon The IMP help icon appears at several places in the AFM Suite. Clicking on this icon will open a browser and jump to the appropriate place in the manual.

Screen text is denoted with a shaded box and it should coincide exactly with text in the AFM Suite; on a button, or next to a check box or input field.

The Index contains key words and important screen text. Each entry is linked to the appropriate place in the manual. If you are wondering about the function of a button in the software use the help icon or search for the button name in the Index.

Linked text (e.g. The IMP Session and Work Flow) cross-references to different parts of the manual. Use the back button on your browser or PDF viewer to return to the jump point.

Bullet lists are used to describe related items which appear in a group. For example:

  • Radio buttons

  • Control settings

  • output fields

  • All related to a particular task.

Screen Layout

The screen layout in the software can be customized to suit the users needs, and the actual appearance depends on the computer platform used (Linux, Windows, Mac). A detailed discussion of how to customize the screen layout is given in the advanced section on Panels and Views. For this reason we do not make extensive use of pictures or screen shots in the manual, but rather screen text and icons help_icon.

Python

The AFM Software Suite is written in the computer language called Python, an open source language with many powerful tools for plotting, image analysis, and numerical calculation. These are collected in a set of modules called SciPy (Scientific Python)). The AFM Suite is platform-independent, running on Windows, Macintosh or Linux. Native graphics environments are used in the GUI which is written in wx-Python , so icons and panels may appear slightly different on different platforms.

This manual is written in restructured text language, and is available as HTML or PDF. The HTML version is linked with the help icons in the AFM Suite and it is more easily used when working with the Suite online. A separate software developer documentation describes the usage and function of the Python objects which make up the IMP Suite. The developmer documentation is designed for users who want to enhance the functionality of the software by modifying the source code and programming their own measurement and analysis methods.