Multiple regimes of operation in bimodal AFM: understanding the energy of cantilever eigenmodes.

ABSTRACT: One of the key goals in atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging is to enhance material property contrast with high resolution. Bimodal AFM, where two eigenmodes are simultaneously excited, confers significant advantages over conventional single-frequency tapping mode AFM due to its ability to provide contrast between regions with different material properties under gentle imaging conditions. Bimodal AFM traditionally uses the first two eigenmodes of the AFM cantilever. In this work, the authors explore the use of higher eigenmodes in bimodal AFM (e.g., exciting the first and fourth eigenmodes). It is found that such operation leads to interesting contrast reversals compared to traditional bimodal AFM. A series of experiments and numerical simulations shows that the primary cause of the contr

SUBMITTER: Kiracofe D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3701429 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature