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Abstract
The atomic force microscope (AFM) was invented in the mid-1980s, in response to strong interest in the high resolution, real-space surface imaging capabilities of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The AFM provides one real benefit that the STM cannot: it is able to image insulating surfaces. As a result, the AFM can operate on a wider variety of samples; it also can image samples in air, where many conductors oxidize rapidly, and in solution. Essentially no surface preparation is necessary. Historically, however, even the AFM has had limitations. Until recently, the contact forces exerted by the AFM tip on the sample surface meant that AFM was limited to surfaces of substantial rigidity. Noncontact AFM removes that barrier, opening up the possibility of AFM imaging of very soft surfaces, or of surfaces that cannot be contaminated by contact with the tip.An AFM uses a piezoelectric transducer to scan the sample beneath a sharp probe.
Published Version
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Schedule a callMore From: Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America
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