Multifrequency Tapping-Mode Atomic Force Microscopy Beyond Three Eigenmodes in Ambient Air

Published

September 25, 2014

Author(s)

Santiago D. Solares Rivera, Sang M. An, Chris Long

Abstract

We present an exploratory study of multimodal tapping-mode atomic force microscopy driving more than three cantilever eigenmodes. We present tetramodal (4-eigenmode) imaging experiments conducted on a thin Teflon film and computational simulations of pentamodal (5-eigenmode) cantilever dynamics and spectroscopy, focusing on the case of large amplitude ratio between the fundamental eigenmode and the higher eigenmodes. We discuss the dynamic complexities of the tip response in time and frequency space, as well as the average amplitude and phase response. We also illustrate typical images and spectroscopy curves and provide a very brief description of the observed contrast. Overall, our findings are promising in that they help open the door to increasing sophistication and greater versatility in multifrequency AFM through the incorporation of a larger number of driven eigenmodes, and in highlighting specific future research opportunities.

Citation

Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology

Volume

5

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

Multifrequency atomic force microscopy, bimodal, trimodal, multimodal, amplitude-modulation, frequency-modulation, open loop

Citation

Solares Rivera, S. , An, S. and Long, C. (2014), Multifrequency Tapping-Mode Atomic Force Microscopy Beyond Three Eigenmodes in Ambient Air, Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=915932 (Accessed October 28, 2025)