Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy

Since 1995, the noncontact atomic force microscope (NC-AFM) has achieved remarkable progress. Based on nanomechanical methods, the NC-AFM detects the weak attractive force between the tip of a cantilever and a sample surface. This method has the following characteristics: it has true atomic resolution; it can measure atomic force interactions, i.e. it can be used in so-called atomic force spectroscopy (AFS); it can also be used to study insulators; and it can measure mechanical responses such as elastic deformation. This is the first book that deals with all of the emerging NC-AFM issues.

Since the original publication of Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy in 2002, the noncontact atomic force microscope (NC-AFM) has achieved remarkable progress. This second treatment deals with the following outstanding recent results obtained with atomic resolution since then: force spectroscopy and mapping with atomic resolution; tuning fork; atomic manipulation; magnetic exchange force microscopy; atomic and molecular imaging in liquids; and other new technologies. These results and technologies are now helping evolve NC-AFM toward practical tools for characterization and manipulation of individual atoms/molecules and nanostructures with atomic/subatomic resolution. Therefore, the book exemplifies how NC-AFM has become a crucial tool for the expanding fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

This book presents the latest developments in noncontact atomic force microscopy. It deals with the following outstanding functions and applications that have been obtained with atomic resolution after the publication of volume 2: (1) Pauli repulsive force imaging of molecular structure, (2) Applications of force spectroscopy and force mapping with atomic resolution, (3) Applications of tuning forks, (4) Applications of atomic/molecular manipulation, (5) Applications of magnetic exchange force microscopy, (6) Applications of atomic and molecular imaging in liquids, (7) Applications of combined AFM/STM with atomic resolution, and (8) New technologies in dynamic force microscopy. These results and technologies are now expanding the capacity of the NC-AFM with imaging functions on an atomic scale toward making them characterization and manipulation tools of individual atoms/molecules and nanostructures, with outstanding capability at the level of molecular, atomic, and subatomic resolution. Since the publication of vol. 2 of the book Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy in 2009 the noncontact atomic force microscope, which can image even insulators with atomic resolution, has achieved remarkable progress. The NC-AFM is now becoming crucial for nanoscience and nanotechnology.

This book explains the operating principles of atomic force microscopy with the aim of enabling the reader to operate a scanning probe microscope successfully and understand the data obtained with the microscope. This enhanced second edition to "Scanning Probe Microscopy" (Springer, 2015) represents a substantial extension and revision to the part on atomic force microscopy of the previous book. Covering both fundamental and important technical aspects of atomic force microscopy, this book concentrates on the principles the methods using a didactic approach in an easily digestible manner. While primarily aimed at graduate students in physics, materials science, chemistry, nanoscience and engineering, this book is also useful for professionals and newcomers in the field, and is an ideal reference book in any atomic force microscopy lab.

A novel non-contact multiaxial astigmatic detection system (ADS) is designed and developed using the astigmatism as the measuring principle for the translational displacement, the angle, and their variations of a measured surface simultaneously. An optical pickup unit (OPU) of a commercial digital versatile disk (DVD) read only memory (ROM) drive can be used directly as an optical path mechanism in the above mentioned ADS, which can measure the translational and angular displacements accurately and simultaneously. The total linear detection range and the maximum measurement bandwidth of the ADS are 6 mm and 80MHz, respectively. The resolution of the translational displacement measurement is in sub-angstrom scale. For an operating frequency of 700 kHz, the noise floors of the translational and angular signals are below 0.8 pm/Hz1/2 and 0.4 mrad/ Hz1/2, respectively. The ADS can monitor the translational and two orthogonal angular displacements of a micro fabricated cantilever in atomic force microscopy (AFM). All the three, contact non-contact and tapping, modes can resolve the single atomic steps of the graphite surface, which indicates that atomic resolution is achievable with the ADS. The thermal noise spectra of the AFM probe can be clearly measured as well. Furthermore, the accuracy of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) depends not only on the measurement system itself, but also by the accuracy of the signal processing, which further depends on the physical and geometrical characteristics of the probe. The structure of the ADS is compact and stable. Besides the measurements through AFM probes, the ADS can be operated in profilometer mode. The CD surface and the CCD microlens are measured by this mode. The maximum scanning speed can reach up to 3.84×106 mm/s theoretically, almost one million times faster than that of a commercial SPM system. The ADS has a great potential for future development, the expansibility and the accuracy can evolve with the performance of future OPU. From the DVD OPU to higher resolution one, such as the OPU of the Blu-ray drive or high- definition (HD-DVD), can be integrated into the ADS as well. KEYWORDS: Astigmatism, ADS, Translational displacement, Angular displacement, SPM, AFM, Cantilever, Optical profilometer