Article abstract
Nature Nanotechnology 2, 507 - 514 (2007)
Published online: 29 July 2007 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2007.226
Subject Categories: Surface patterning and imaging | Nanometrology and instrumentation
An atomic force microscope tip designed to measure time-varying nanomechanical forces
Ozgur Sahin1, Sergei Magonov2,4, Chanmin Su2, Calvin F. Quate3 & Olav Solgaard3
Abstract
Tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM), in which the vibrating tip periodically approaches, interacts and retracts from the sample surface, is the most common AFM imaging method. The tip experiences attractive and repulsive forces that depend on the chemical and mechanical properties of the sample, yet conventional AFM tips are limited in their ability to resolve these time-varying forces. We have created a specially designed cantilever tip that allows these interaction forces to be measured with good (sub-microsecond) temporal resolution and material properties to be determined and mapped in detail with nanoscale spatial resolution. Mechanical measurements based on these force waveforms are provided at a rate of 4 kHz. The forces and contact areas encountered in these measurements are orders of magnitude smaller than conventional indentation and AFM-based indentation techniques that typically provide data rates around 1 Hz. We use this tool to quantify and map nanomechanical changes in a binary polymer blend in the vicinity of its glass transition.
- Rowland Institute at Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
- Veeco Instruments, Santa Barbara, California 93117, USA
- E. L. Ginzton Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
- Present address: Agilent Technologies, 4330 W. Chandler Boulevard, Chandler, Arizona 85226, USA
Correspondence to: Ozgur Sahin1 e-mail: sahin@rowland.harvard.edu
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