"Win an AFM" Giveaway's Global Reach and Successful Conclusion

On July 15, 2013, AFMWorkshop organized a first-ever live global Giveaway for the TT AFM. Utilizing a streaming online live feed, entrants to the "Win an AFM" Giveaway from 44 US States and 43 countries were able to log in, live chat with each other, and watch their entries spin around the raffle drum. All selected entrants then had a specified amount of time (approx 4 minutes) to connect with AFMWorkshop and claim their AFM.

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to the winner, Shoieb Shaik of the University of Alabama! Shoieb, currently working on his Ph.D. at Univ. Alabama Tuscaloosa's Electrical Engineering Department, says "I'm working on several different projects that are heavily dependent on AFM to study surface morphology, surface roughness, and the thickness of various films. I was researching phase imaging mode online and started reading about the TT AFM and the Giveaway. I had a strong feeling I would win!"

As a member of Dr. Dawen Li's group at the Univ. of Alabama, Shoieb's researching hybrid solar cells based on the nanoparticle-fullerenes, and bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells. About his research, Shoieb says:

"a novel solar cell structure, which addresses both lateral and vertical morphology, will be employed to improve both power-conversion efficiency and thermal stability. I'll also study the correlation between morphology and energy-conversion efficiency.

The TT AFM is a very promising and efficient tool for the work we do. After its installation, I'll use it heavily to study organic thin-film morphology and its effect on device performance."

Shoieb and Dr. Li's group are also looking forward to using their TT AFM in collaborative projects with other groups throughout the University of Alabama.