In this ≪ contribution we address the question to what extent surface charges affect contact-mode scanning force microscopy measurements. % We therefore designed samples where we could generate localized electric field distributions near the surface as and when required. % We performed a series of experiments where we varied the load of the tip, the stiffness of the cantilever and the hardness of the sample surface. % It turned out that only for soft cantilevers could an electrostatic interaction between tip and surface charges be detected, irrespective of the surface properties, i.\,e. basically regardless its hardness. % We explain these results through a model based on the alteration of the tip-sample potential by the additional electric field between charged tip and surface charges.
@article{arxiv.1009.1905,
title = {Impact of Electrostatic Forces in Contact Mode Scanning Force Microscopy},
author = {F. Johann and Á. Hoffmann and E. Soergel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1009.1905},
year = {2016}
}