AFM at the liquid-solid interface

An application of STM and AFM of particular interest is the in situ study of electrochemistry. Because the solid surface of interest is immersed in an electrolyte, no other microscopy method can access the liquid-solid interface except optical microscopy (which has a resolution of about 0.5 xm). The dif- 

With the advances in AFM, especially the optical beam deflection method in the repulsive-force regime, the AFM study of solid surfaces under an electrolyte becomes practical. Atomic resolution with AFM at a liquid-solid interface has been routinely achieved (Manne et al., 1990, 1991). A typical fluid cell for the AFM study of electrochemistry is shown in Fig. 15.10. The top of the cell is made of glass to allow light to go in and out. 

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