Recording atomic force microscopy

The systems that scan the piezos and record the image are similar to those used in atomic force microscopy. 

Atomic force microscopy (ATM), on the other hand, does not require a conducting surface. The probe simply responds to attractions and repulsions from the surface, and its corresponding downward and upward motions are directly recorded to give the relief map of the surface structure. The probe can be either in contact with the surface, or adjacent to it and sensing only coulombic or van der Waals forces. 

Fig. 7.5. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images in 3D recorded at two scan sizes of the four stages involved in the etching and chemical modification of capillaries for OTCEC.

Fig. 9 Image of a grating area of 2 gm X 2 gm recorded by atomic force microscopy. Grating depth 30 nm, period 330 nm...

We will discuss the operating principle of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and other scanning force microscopies in more detail in Chapter 7. At this point, simply think of this technique as analogous to an antiquated record player, in which the needle gently touches the surface of the record to produce music. Similarly, the AFM tip either gently taps, or hovers immediately above, the surface of a planar substrate. 

Images of the surface were recorded for increasing irradiation times by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Initially, the surface was flat and only some hill-like... 

A completely different class of analytical techniques, e.g. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) or Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM), generate images, where the pixel brightness is used to record distances. 

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