Atomic Force Microscopy: probing the Nanoworld

Scanning probe microscopy and related methods

Since the invention of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) [1] and atomic force microscopy (AFM) [2], a new class of local probe microscopes has entered the laboratories around the world. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) uses probing tips to map properties, such as topography, local adhesive forces, elasticity, friction or magnetic properties. In the emerging fields of nanoscience and nanotechn...

Development of Nano-Biology with Atomic Force Microscopy

The first observation of double-stranded DNA by atomic force microscopy in the late 1980’s greatly encouraged many biological researchers to jump into the nanoworld. Here we briefly review the history of how AFM has been utilized to reveal nanometer-scale structures of DNA-protein complexes, and we highlight key technical developments that have accelerated applications of AFM to molecular biolo...

Noncontact atomic force microscopy

No other method has opened the door to progress in nanoscience and nanotechnology as much as the introduction of scanning probe methods did in the 1980s, since they offer a way to visualize the nanoworld. For maximum impact, however, the ability to image and manipulate individual atoms is the key. Initially, scanning tunneling microscopy was the only scanningprobe-based method that was able to ...

Note: Multiscale scanning probe microscopy.

Combining the nanoscopic and macroscopic worlds is a serious challenge common to numerous scientific fields, from physics to biology. In this paper, we demonstrate nanometric resolution over a millimeter range by means of atomic-force microscopy using metrological stage. Nanometric repeatability and millimeter range open up the possibility of probing components and materials combining multiscal...

Probing attractive forces at the nanoscale using higher-harmonic dynamic force microscopy