PyfastSPM: A Python package to convert 1D FastSPM data streams into publication quality movies

Since the invention of scanning probe microscopy, researchers have desired to use this technique to monitor sub-second surface dynamics with atomic spatial resolution. A recently presented add-on electronics module enables the speed-up of existing, conventional scanning probe microscopes without any modification of the actual instrument. The resulting one-dimensional (1D) data stream, recorded while the tip oscillates in a sinusoidal motion, has to be reconstructed into a layered rectangular matrix in order to visualize the movie. The Python-based pyfastspm package performs this conversion, while also correcting for sample tilt, noise frequencies, piezo creep, and thermal drift. Quick automatic conversion even of considerable batches of data is achieved by efficient algorithms that bundle time-expensive steps, such as interpolation based on Delaunay triangulation.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Researchers have developed an add-on electronics module to enhance the speed of conventional scanning probe microscopes without modification of the instrument. The pyfastspm package in Python is able to convert the recorded data into a rectangular matrix, correct for various artifacts, and enable efficient and automatic conversion of large data batches.