A novel algorithm is described and illustrated for high speed imaging of biopolymers andother stringlike samples using atomic force microscopy. The method uses the measurementsin real-time to steer the tip of the instrument to localize the scanning area over thesample of interest. Depending on the sample, the scan time can be reduced by an order ofmagnitude or more while maintaining image resolution. Images are generated byinterpolating the non-raster data using a modified Kriging algorithm. The method isdemonstrated using physical simulations that include actuator and cantilever dynamics,nonlinear tip-sample interactions, and measurement noise as well as through scanningexperiments in which a two-axis nanopositioning stage is steered by the algorithm usingsimulated height data.
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