Evaluation of intermittent contact mode AFM probes by HREM and using atomically sharp CeO2 ridges as tip characterizer
The imaging process of the atomic force microscope (AFM) in contact, noncontact, and intermittent contact mode is still debated after more than a decade of widespread use, in particular when imaged features are approaching atomic dimensions. Several models for the interaction between the tip and the surface have been suggested, but, generally they all need an exact description of the geometry of e