Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)

Atomic force microscopy is a specific scanning probe microscopy mode where images of surfaces are acquired using mechanical, electrical, and magnetical interactions between a sharp tip (cantilever and tuning fork) and the surface. Many AFM modes have been published in the last 20 years, some of which are mainstream and others are more exotic. Up-to-date instrumentation such as the HF2PLL is required to support most of them.

Identified AFM trends are the move towards higher cantilever frequencies, multi-frequency operation, and multi-mode operation. Applications that previously performed on lock-in amplification below 1 MHz are moving into the regions of tens of MHz. Scientists demand scanning at ever increasing speeds and thus require instrumentation with small time constants, in order to capture very fast events.

Supported modes