Title Modification of the AFM sensor by a precisely regulated air stream to increase imaging speed and accuracy in the contact mode /
Authors Dzedzickis, Andrius ; Bučinskas, Vytautas ; Viržonis, Darius ; Šešok, Nikolaj ; Ulčinas, Artūras ; Iljin, Igor ; Šutinys, Ernestas ; Petkevičius, Sigitas ; Gargasas, Justinas ; Morkvėnaitė-Vilkončienė, Inga
DOI 10.3390/s18082694
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Is Part of Sensors.. Basel : MDPI. 2018, vol. 18, iss. 8, art. no. 2694, p. 1-16.. ISSN 1424-8220
Keywords [eng] atomic force microscopy ; cantilever’s mathematical model ; dynamic characteristics ; nonlinear stiffness ; high speed
Abstract [eng] Increasing the imaging rate of atomic force microscopy (AFM) without impairing of the imaging quality is a challenging task, since the increase in the scanning speed leads to a number of artifacts related to the limited mechanical bandwidth of the AFM components. One of these artifacts is the loss of contact between the probe tip and the sample. We propose to apply an additional nonlinear force on the upper surface of a cantilever, which will help to keep the tip and surface in contact. In practice, this force can be produced by the precisely regulated airflow. Such an improvement affects the AFM system dynamics, which were evaluated using a mathematical model that is presented in this paper. The model defines the relationships between the additional nonlinear force, the pressure of the applied air stream, and the initial air gap between the upper surface of the cantilever and the end of the air duct. It was found that the nonlinear force created by the stream of compressed air (aerodynamic force) prevents the contact loss caused by the high scanning speed or the higher surface roughness, thus maintaining stable contact between the probe and the surface. This improvement allows us to effectively increase the scanning speed by at least 10 times using a soft (spring constant of 0.2 N/m) cantilever by applying the air pressure of 40 Pa. If a stiff cantilever (spring constant of 40 N/m) is used, the potential of vertical deviation improvement is twice is large. This method is suitable for use with different types of AFM sensors and it can be implemented practically without essential changes in AFM sensor design.
Published Basel : MDPI
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2018