A practical, side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right atomically flat gold substrate for AFM, STM, SAM formation, and electrochemistry.
Researchers working with AFM, STM, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), or gold electrochemistry generally choose between four substrate types: gold deposited on glass (like arrandee™ Au(111)), gold deposited on cleaved mica, bulk Au(111) single crystals, and template-stripped gold (TSG). Each gets you to an atomically flat gold surface by a different route, and each carries its own trade-off between cost, preparation effort, fragility, and lead time.
It depends on your application and budget. A bulk single crystal makes sense if you need maximum crystallographic perfection and can accept the high cost and long preparation cycle that comes with it. Most labs don't need that: for routine, reproducible Au(111) terraces in SAM formation, STM imaging, or electrochemistry, gold-on-glass or template-stripped gold get you there faster and cheaper. The table below breaks it down parameter by parameter.
arrandee™ gold-on-glass compared with gold on mica, Au(111) single crystal, and template-stripped gold (TSG)
| Feature | arrandee™ Gold-on-Glass | Gold on Mica | Au(111) Single Crystal | Template-Stripped Gold (TSG) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | Low (from €25/piece) | Moderate–High (often >$100/sheet) | Very high (often several hundred € to €1,000+) | Moderate–High, usually made to order |
| Ready to use | Yes, after flame annealing | Needs fresh cleaving/annealing | Requires polishing | Ready immediately after stripping |
| Preparation method | Propane/butane flame annealing | Mechanical cleaving + annealing (sometimes H₂/UHV) | Mechanical polishing, electropolishing, annealing cycles | Epoxy bonding to a carrier, then mechanical stripping |
| Atomic flatness / terrace size | Large Au(111) terraces, several hundred nm | Large terraces achievable, surface-dependent | Excellent, largest achievable terraces | Very low RMS roughness, sub-nm flat |
| Mechanical robustness | Robust, rigid glass carrier | Fragile, thin mica sheet | Robust but high-value, handle with care | Surface sensitive until use |
| Requires UHV preparation | No | Sometimes, for best results | Often, for research-grade quality | No |
| Suitable for SAM formation | Yes, widely used | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Suitable for electrochemistry | Yes | Limited by fragility | Yes, gold standard | Possible, less common |
| Typical delivery time | In stock, approx. 1–2 weeks | Varies by supplier | Often weeks to months (made to order) | Usually made to order |
| Suitable for teaching / high-throughput labs | Yes | No, too fragile/costly | No, too costly | Limited |
Figures are general industry guidance for comparison purposes and can vary by supplier, sample size, and specification. Please contact us if you'd like our current pricing and lead times for a specific project.
Gold is vapor-deposited directly onto borosilicate glass, with no adhesion layer in between. Flame-annealing produces large, atomically flat Au(111) terraces on demand, right before use. It's rigid, inexpensive, and normally in stock, which makes it the practical default for most SAM, STM/AFM, and electrochemistry work.
Gold deposited on thin, cleaved mica sheets. Mica's own atomic flatness can transfer to the gold layer, but the mica itself is thin and fragile. Getting optimal flatness out of it often takes more elaborate annealing than a glass-backed substrate needs.
A solid, bulk gold crystal cut and polished along the (111) plane. It offers the highest achievable crystallographic quality, but that comes at a price: mechanical polishing and repeated annealing cycles are needed to keep the surface usable between experiments.
Gold deposited onto an ultra-smooth template (e.g. a silicon wafer) and mechanically peeled off to expose the ultra-flat interface surface. This achieves very low roughness, though the freshly exposed surface should be used promptly, and samples are typically prepared to order.
Tell us about your application and we'll help you choose the right gold, silver, or platinum substrate. Standard sizes are in stock, delivery usually takes about 1-2 weeks, and expedited shipping can be arranged for urgent requests.
Ask Our TeamCommon questions when choosing between gold substrate types
Gold-on-glass substrates like arrandee™ are deposited on rigid borosilicate glass and are flame-annealed by the user after arrival. Gold on mica is deposited on thin, cleaved mica sheets, which are more fragile, require careful handling, and often need to be freshly cleaved or annealed under more controlled conditions to achieve comparable flatness.
A bulk Au(111) single crystal offers the highest possible crystallographic perfection, but at a much higher cost and with a time-consuming polishing and re-polishing routine between experiments. For most SAM, SPM, and electrochemistry applications, a gold-on-glass substrate provides comparable terrace quality at a fraction of the cost and without the maintenance burden.
Template-stripped gold is produced by depositing gold onto an ultra-smooth template and then mechanically peeling it off, exposing the ultra-flat side that was in contact with the template. TSG achieves very low roughness and is popular where sub-nanometer flatness is required, but it is typically made to order and the freshly exposed surface should be used promptly.
Any atomically flat Au(111) surface can support SAM formation, but gold-on-glass substrates are the most widely used choice. They combine large, reproducible Au(111) terraces with a simple flame-annealing preparation, and they hold up well to routine handling at low cost. See our dedicated SAM substrate guide for details.
No. Unlike mica, which must be cleaved to expose a fresh, atomically flat surface, arrandee™ gold-on-glass substrates are ready to use directly after flame annealing with a simple propane/butane torch, without any mechanical cleaving step.