Dual resonance excitation system for the contact mode of atomic force microscopy.

We propose an improved system that enables simultaneous excitation and measurements of at least two resonance frequency spectra of a vibrating atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilever. With the dual resonance excitation system it is not only possible to excite the cantilever vibrations in different frequency ranges but also to control the excitation amplitude for the individual modes. This system can be used to excite the resonance frequencies of a cantilever that is either free of the tip-sample interactions or engaged in contact with the sample surface. The atomic force acoustic microscopy and principally similar methods utilize resonance frequencies of the AFM cantilever vibrating while in contact with the sample surface to determine its local elastic modulus. As such calculation demands values of at least two resonance frequencies, two or three subsequent measurements of the contact resonance spectra are necessary. Our approach shortens the measurement time by a factor of two and limits the influence of the AFM tip wear on the values of the tip-sample contact stiffness. In addition, it allows for in situ observation of processes transpiring within the AFM tip or the sample during non-elastic interaction, such as tip fracture.

[1]  Amelio,et al.  Quantitative determination of contact stiffness using atomic force acoustic microscopy , 2000, Ultrasonics.

[2]  Manika Prasad,et al.  Measurement of Young's modulus of clay minerals using atomic force acoustic microscopy , 2002 .

[3]  Donna C. Hurley,et al.  Elastic-property measurements of ultrathin films using atomic force acoustic microscopy , 2005 .

[4]  M. Roellig,et al.  Detection of buried reference structures by use of atomic force acoustic microscopy. , 2011, Ultramicroscopy.

[5]  Joseph A. Turner,et al.  Atomic force acoustic microscopy methods to determine thin-film elastic properties , 2003 .

[6]  R. Geiss,et al.  Continuous measurement of atomic force microscope tip wear by contact resonance force microscopy. , 2011, Small.

[7]  D. Rupp,et al.  Nonlinear contact resonance spectroscopy in atomic force microscopy , 2007 .

[8]  R. Cook,et al.  Mapping the elastic properties of granular Au films by contact resonance atomic force microscopy , 2008, Nanotechnology.

[9]  Anthony B. Kos,et al.  Mapping substrate/film adhesion with contact-resonance-frequency atomic force microscopy , 2006 .

[10]  Mechanical Characterization of Thin Films by Use of Atomic Force Acoustic Microscopy , 2011 .

[11]  Gerold A. Schneider,et al.  High-resolution characterization of piezoelectric ceramics by ultrasonic scanning force microscopy techniques , 2002 .

[12]  Anish Kumar,et al.  Elasticity mapping of precipitates in polycrystalline materials using atomic force acoustic microscopy , 2008 .

[13]  Oleg Kolosov,et al.  Mapping surface elastic properties of stiff and compliant materials on the nanoscale using ultrasonic force microscopy , 2000 .

[14]  W. Arnold,et al.  Atomic force microscopy at MHz frequencies , 1994 .

[15]  Stephen Jesse,et al.  Resonance enhancement in piezoresponse force microscopy: Mapping electromechanical activity, contact stiffness, and Q factor , 2006 .

[16]  H. Yamanaka.  Nucleation of Oxygen Precipitates during Cooling Processes in Czochralski Silicon , 1993 .

[17]  Gheorghe Stan,et al.  Quantitative measurements of indentation moduli by atomic force acoustic microscopy using a dual reference method , 2006 .

[18]  Ute Rabe,et al.  Vibrations of free and surface‐coupled atomic force microscope cantilevers: Theory and experiment , 1996 .

[19]  Joseph A. Turner,et al.  Imaging using lateral bending modes of atomic force microscope cantilevers , 2004 .

[20]  R. Geiss,et al.  Contact mechanics and tip shape in AFM-based nanomechanical measurements. , 2006, Ultramicroscopy.

[21]  Anthony B. Kos,et al.  Nanomechanical mapping with resonance tracking scanned probe microscope , 2007 .

[22]  Michael J. Fasolka,et al.  Influence of surface energy and relative humidity on AFM nanomechanical contact stiffness , 2006 .

[23]  Ute Rabe,et al.  Acoustic microscopy by atomic force microscopy , 1994 .

[24]  Donna C. Hurley,et al.  Contact Resonance Force Microscopy Techniques for Nanomechanical Measurements , 2008 .

[25]  R. Hübner,et al.  Nanometer deformation of elastically anisotropic materials studied by nanoindentation , 2012 .