Materials Characterization by Atomic Force Microscopy.

摘要

This research program is focused on the study of the atomic force microscope (AFM) as an instrument for quantitative measuring and imaging material properties with nanoscale resolution. More specific to this research are the dynamic modes of AFM, in which the specimen moves relative to the AFM cantilever tip while in contact. Particular emphases include the higher-order vibration modes and the nonlinear vibration response. In addition to the original objective, improved modeling of AFM cantilevers has been undertaken. The use of simplified beam models with uniform cross section does not reflect the AFM cantilevers that are often used in experiments. High resolution cantilever measurements with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and modeling with finite element analysis have been used to improve the comparisons between experiments and numerical models.