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Nanoscale compositional mapping with gentle forces

Nature Materials volume 6, pages 405–411 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Microscopists have always pursued the development of an instrument that combines topography and materials properties analyses at the highest resolution. The measurement of the tiny amount of energy dissipated by a vibrating tip in the proximity of the sample surface has provided atomic force microscopes with a robust and versatile method to determine the morphology and the compositional variations of surfaces in their natural environment. Applications in biology, polymer science and microelectronics illustrate the potential of phase-imaging force microscopy for nanoscale analysis.

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Figure 1: Introducing AM-AFM.
Figure 2: Energy dissipation curves.
Figure 3: AFM phase-imaging.
Figure 4: Complex microdomain structure of a block copolymer.
Figure 5: Real-time phase images of crystal twisting during the crystallization of a chiral random copolymer at 75 °C.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the European Commission (FORCETOOL, NMP4-CT-2004-013684).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Microelectrónica de Madrid, CSIC, 28760 Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo García

  2. Chemische Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz, Chemnitz, D-09107, Germany

    Robert Magerle

  3. Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain

    Ruben Perez

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García, R., Magerle, R. & Perez, R. Nanoscale compositional mapping with gentle forces. Nature Mater 6, 405–411 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1925

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