Atomic Force Microscope and related techniques have played a key role in the development of the nanotechnology revolution that is taking place in science. This paper reviews the basic principles behind the technique and its different operation modes and applications, pointing out research works performed in the Nanometric Techniques Unit of the CCiTUB in order to exemplify the vast array of cap...

When two surfaces at two different temperatures are separated by a distance comparable to a mean-free path of the molecules of the ambient medium, the surfaces experience Knudsen force. This mechanical force can be important in microelectromechanical systems and in atomic force microscopy. A theoretical discussion of the magnitude of the forces and the conditions where they can be encountered i...

The roughness of glass surfaces after different stages of etching is investigated by reflection measurements with a spectrophotometer, light scattering, and atomic-force microscopy (in small scale), and Talysurf (in large scale). The results suggest, there are three regimes during etching, according to their optical reflectivity and roughness. The first and second regimes are studied by the Kir...

Ni-Mn-Ga is a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy that deforms by twin boundary motion. The magneto-mechanical properties depend strongly on the twin microstructure. A thermomechanical treatment was applied to a Ni-Mn-Ga single crystal with coexisting 10M and 14M martensite structures to create twin boundaries and align the short crystallographic c direction preferentially perpendicular to the sur...

The phase angle of the cantilever oscillation in tapping mode scanning force microscopy can be related to the energy dissipated per oscillation period through an analytical model that assumes a sinusoidal movement of the cantilever @J. Tamayo and R. Garcı́a, Appl. Phys. Lett. 73, 2926 ~1998!; J. P. Cleveland, B. Anczykowski, E. Schmid, and V. Elings, Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 2613 ~1998!#. In this w...