How does a tip tap?

There is a demand for good theoretical understanding of the response of an atomic force microscope cantilever to the extremely nonlinear impacts received while tapping a sample. A model and numerical simulations are presented in this paper which provide a very pleasing comparison with experimental results. The dependence of the cantilever amplitude and phase upon the sample stiffness, adhesion and damping are investigated using these simulations, and it is found that `topographic' tapping images are not independent of sample properties, nor will it be trivial to measure materials' properties from the tapping data. The simulation can be applied to other probe microscope configurations as well.

[1]  K. Umemura,et al.  High Resolution Images of Cell Surface Using a Tapping-Mode Atomic Force Microscope , 1993 .

[2]  Thomas Thundat,et al.  Transient response of tapping scanning force microscopy in liquids , 1996 .

[3]  Jan Greve,et al.  Tapping mode atomic force microscopy in liquid , 1994 .

[4]  J. Israelachvili.  Intermolecular and surface forces , 1985 .

[5]  D. Maugis,et al.  JKR-DMT transition in the presence of a liquid meniscus , 1994 .

[6]  Hubert M. Pollock,et al.  Interpretation of force curves in force microscopy , 1993 .

[7]  David Keller,et al.  Scanning Force Microscopy in Biology , 1995 .

[8]  Dong Chen,et al.  Driven nonlinear atomic force microscopy cantilevers: From noncontact to tapping modes of operation , 1996 .

[9]  B. Hughes,et al.  ‘SOFT’ CONTACT PROBLEMS IN LINEAR ELASTICITY , 1979 .

[10]  Kazushi Yamanaka,et al.  New Approaches in Acoustic Microscopy for Noncontact Measurement and Ultra High Resolution , 1995 .

[11]  D. Sarid,et al.  Numerical simulations of a tapping-mode scanning force microscope operating in a liquid , 1995 .

[12]  Thomas Thundat,et al.  Harmonic response of near‐contact scanning force microscopy , 1995 .

[13]  Oleg Kolosov,et al.  Nonlinear Detection of Ultrasonic Vibrations in an Atomic Force Microscope , 1993 .

[14]  D. Maugis.  Adhesion of spheres : the JKR-DMT transition using a dugdale model , 1992 .

[15]  B. Derjaguin,et al.  On the influence of molecular forces on the deformation of an elastic sphere and its sticking to a rigid plane , 1980 .

[16]  V. Elings,et al.  Fractured polymer/silica fiber surface studied by tapping mode atomic force microscopy , 1993 .

[17]  Pascal Gallo,et al.  Scanning local‐acceleration microscopy , 1996 .

[18]  K. Kendall,et al.  Surface energy and the contact of elastic solids , 1971, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[19]  R. Ulbrich,et al.  Probe‐surface interaction in near‐field optical microscopy: The nonlinear bending force mechanism , 1996 .

[20]  P. Couturier.  Japan , 1988, The Lancet.

[21]  Dror Sarid,et al.  Numerical simulations of a scanning force microscope with a large-amplitude vibrating cantilever , 1994 .

[22]  D. Chernoff.  High-resolution chemical mapping using tapping mode AFM with phase contrast , 1995 .

[23]  F. Giessibl,et al.  Atomic Resolution of the Silicon (111)-(7x7) Surface by Atomic Force Microscopy , 1995, Science.

[24]  Roland G. Winkler,et al.  Forces affecting the substrate in resonant tapping force microscopy , 1995 .

[25]  Ricardo Garcia,et al.  Deformation, Contact Time, and Phase Contrast in Tapping Mode Scanning Force Microscopy , 1996 .

[26]  D. S. Dugdale.  Yielding of steel sheets containing slits , 1960 .

[27]  A. J. Howard,et al.  Nanomechanical basis for imaging soft materials with tapping mode atomic force microscopy , 1996 .

[28]  Burnham,et al.  Work-function anisotropies as an origin of long-range surface forces. , 1992, Physical review letters.

[29]  Krueger,et al.  Cantilever dynamics in quasinoncontact force microscopy: Spectroscopic aspects. , 1996, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[30]  B. V. Derjaguin,et al.  Effect of contact deformations on the adhesion of particles , 1975 .

[31]  Burnham,et al.  Nanosubharmonics: The dynamics of small nonlinear contacts. , 1995, Physical review letters.

[32]  Winkler,et al.  Imaging material properties by resonant tapping-force microscopy: A model investigation. , 1996, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.