3/2/2024

Atomic Force Microscopy

Institute of Metallurgy & Materials Engineering

University of the Punjab, Lahore.

How it started?

Scanning
Probe
Microscopes

Scanning
Atomic Force
Tunneling
Microscope
Microscope
Calvin Quate
Heinrich Rohrer ❖ 1981 ❖ 1986
❖ IBM (Zurich), ❖ Stanford
Switzerland University,
Noble Prize in Physics (1986) California

Gerd Binning Christoph Gerber

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How it started?

What is AFM?

Results

The AFM.!

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What is AFM?
-Instrumentation

Parts
❖Cantilever
❖Tip
❖Piezoelectric-
Scanner
❖Laser
❖Photodiode
❖Sample stage
❖Control Unit

What is AFM?
-Instrumentation

Tip • Tip Material;

Si, Si-Ni

• Radius; 5-20 nm
• Height; 10-25 m

Cantilever • Cantilever;
Si

• Length; 50-400
m

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What is AFM?
-Instrumentation
Piezoelectric Tube
1. (sample stage) Laser Source
Photodiode (detector)
Control Unit

y
x
z

Lead Zirconium Titanate

✓ Developed in 1986
✓ Consists of:
✓ Tip & Cantilever
✓ Piezo-Scanner
✓ Laser source
✓ Photodiode
✓ Control Unit

So Far…

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What is AFM?
-Working Principle
Finish
➢ The Atomic Force Microscope works
by scanning a sharp probe / tip over
the surface of a sample in a raster
pattern.
Illustration of a Raster Scan

➢ The movement of the probe is

monitored which in result gives a 3-D
image of the surface.
A 3-D image; result of Raster Scan

What is AFM?
-Working Principle

➢ When the tip is brought Forces

close to the sample, a
number of forces may
❖ Short Range ❖ Long Range
operate.
❖ Electrostatic ❖ Van der Waal
❖ Polarization ❖ Magnetic
❖ Contact ❖ Electrostatic
❖ Less than 10 ❖ Upto 10 nm
nm or more

These Forces may be

attractive or repulsive.

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What is AFM?
-Working Principle
Repulsion

❖ As the tip is brought towards the sample,

attractive forces; mostly van der Waals cause
attraction. When the tip gets closer to the
sample this attraction increases.
Force

Tip-Sample Separation
❖ At very small separations the repulsive forces
come into action
Net
Attraction

Force ❖ The resultant force (green) has more repulsive

trend as these are dominant at very small
separation.

What is AFM?
-Working Principle

The Piezo-Scanner The Position Sensitive Photo detector

• Another important
parameter in AFM
circuit is feedback.

• Feedback loop controls

the Z-position of the
sample

Deflection in Z axis Deflection in X-Y axis

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What is AFM?
-Working/Imaging Modes

Imaging Modes

Vibrating
Mode
Non-
Contact
Mode

Contact
Mode

What is AFM?
-Working/Imaging Modes

❖ Contact mode
• The tip contacts the surface through the
adsorbed fluid layer on the sample surface.

• The detector monitors the changing

cantilever deflection and the force is
calculated using Hooke’s law:
F=−kx
(F = force, k = spring constant,
x = cantilever deflection)

• The feedback circuit adjusts the probe

height to try and maintain a constant force
and deflection on the cantilever. This is
known as the deflection set-point.

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What is AFM?
-Working/Imaging Modes

❖ Non-contact mode
• The cantilever oscillates near the surface of
the sample, but does not contact it.

• The oscillation is at slightly above the

resonant frequency.

• Van der Waals and other long-range forces

decrease the resonant frequency just above
the surface. This decrease in resonant
frequency causes the amplitude of
oscillation to decrease.

What is AFM?
-Working/Imaging Modes
❖ Tapping mode
• The cantilever oscillates at or slightly below its
resonant frequency (Amplitude; 20 nm to 100 nm).

• The tip lightly “taps” on the sample surface during

scanning, contacting the surface at the bottom of its
swing. The forces on the tip change as the tip-surface
separation changes and the resonant frequency of the
cantilever is dependent on this separation.

• The oscillation is also damped when the tip is closer to

the surface. Changes in the oscillation amplitude can
be used to measure the distance between the tip and
the surface. The feedback circuit adjusts the probe
height to try and maintain a constant amplitude of
oscillation.

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What is AFM?
-Working/Imaging Modes

What is AFM?
-Working/Imaging Modes
Comparison of Imaging Modes
Imaging Mode Advantages Limitations
Contact Mode • High Speed Scans o Lateral forces may distort features in
the image

Non-Contact Mode • Both normal & lateral forces are minimized o Adsorbed fluid layer may be too thick
for effective measurements
• Provides atomic resolution in a UHV environment
o Slower scan rate than tapping and
contact mode

Tapping Mode • Eliminates lateral forces o Scan rate is slower than in contact
• Higher lateral resolution mode
• Less damage to soft samples due to lower forces

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What is AFM?
-Applications

AFM has found its application in almost all fields of sciences.

❖ Material Science
❖ Coatings
❖ Microstructures

❖ Life Sciences

❖ Chemistry

❖ Physics

Polymeric Glass Polycarbonate Human Hair Thiols on Au Cu/ Ni/ Cu Magnetic

Domains

What is AFM?
-Applications

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What is AFM?
-Summary

• As the tip moves, the Piezo scans in x-y

direction across the sample surface

• Cantilever deflects in response to a

topographical feature, the cantilever deflection
is the feedback parameter.

• The results from all X,Y and Z directions are

compiled and a surface image can be obtained.

Get to the Point..

Tip of the Day…!!

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