NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.
Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.
An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Energy Transfer Between Eigenmodes in Multimodal Atomic Force Microscopy
Published
Author(s)
Sang M. An, Santiago D. Solares Rivera, Sergio Santos, Daniel Ebeling
Abstract
We present experimental and computational investigations of tetramodal and pentamodal atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively, whereby the first four or five flexural modes of the cantilever are simultaneously excited externally. This leads to six to eight additional observables in the form of amplitude and phase signals, with respect to the monomodal amplitude modulation method. We convert these additional observables into three or four dissipation and virial expressions, and show that, besides providing more physically meaningful information than the amplitudes and phases, these quantities can also provide enhanced contrast that would otherwise remain hidden in the original observables. Finally, we show that the complexity of the multimodal impact leads to significant energy transfer between the active eigenmodes, such that the dissipated power for individual eigenmodes may be positive or negative, even though the total dissipated power remains positive. This type of multifrequency AFM characterization with multiple driven eigenmodes could enable more robust quantification of sample properties as well as frequency dependent characterization of surfaces whose viscoelastic properties exhibit multiple relaxation times.
An, S.
, Solares Rivera, S.
, Santos, S.
and Ebeling, D.
(2014),
Energy Transfer Between Eigenmodes in Multimodal Atomic Force Microscopy, Nanotechnology, [online], https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/25/47/475701, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=916492
(Accessed October 18, 2025)