Related papers: Mono-stability of sharp tips interacting with surf…
Tip enhanced IR spectra and imaging have been widely used in cutting-edge studies for the in-depth understanding of the composition, structure and function of interfaces at the nanoscale. However, molecular monolayer sensitivity has only…
When a fluid surface adheres to a substrate, the location of the contact line adjusts in order to minimize the overall energy. This adhesion balance implies boundary conditions which depend on the characteristic surface deformation…
In the atomic force microscope, the nanoscale force topography of even complex surface superstructures is extracted by the changing vibration frequency of a scanning tip. An alternative dissipation topography with similar or even better…
We study local oxidation induced by dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM), commonly called TappingMode AFM. This minimizes the field induced forces, which cause the tip to blunt, and enables us to use very fine tips. We are able to…
The mechanical properties of collagen fibrils depend on the amount and the distribution of water molecules within the fibrils. Here, we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the effect of hydration on the viscoelastic properties of…
We investigate the modification of photoluminescence (PL) from single semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (NCs) in proximity of metal and semiconducting Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) tips. The presence of the tip alters the radiative…
We discuss the influence of external forces on the motion of the tip in dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM). First, a compact solution for the steady-state problem is derived employing a Fourier approach. Founding on this solution, we…
The capillary force was measured by atomic force microscopy between a gold coated sphere mounted on a cantilever and gold surfaces with different roughness. For smooth surfaces the capillary adhesive force surpasses in magnitude any…
We propose and analyze a scheme to interface individual neutral atoms with nanoscale solid-state systems. The interface is enabled by optically trapping the atom via the strong near-field generated by a sharp metallic nanotip. We show that…
We propose a new method to investigate interactions involved in atomic force microscopy (AFM). It is a dynamical method relying on the growth of oscillations via parametric resonance. With this method the second and third derivatives of the…
Atomic-scale characteristics of surfaces dictate the principles governing numerous scientific phenomena ranging from catalysis to friction. Despite this fact, our ability to visualize and alter surfaces on the atomic scale is severely…
We analyze an advanced two-spring model with an ultra-low effective tip mass to predict nontrivial and physically rich 'fine structure' in the atomic stick-slip motion in Friction Force Microscopy (FFM) experiments. We demonstrate that this…
In bimodal FM-AFM, two flexural modes are excited simultaneously. The total vertical oscillation deflection range of the tip is the sum of the peak-to-peak amplitudes of both flexural modes (sum amplitude). We show atomically resolved…
Sub-nm resolution images can be achieved by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) on samples that are deposited on hard substrates. However, it is still extremely challenging to image soft interfaces, such as biological membranes, due to the…
Metrological AFM measurements are performed on the silica glass interfaces of photonic band-gap fibres and hollow capillaries. The freezing of attenuated out-of-equilibrium capillary waves during the drawing process is shown to result in a…
Modern theories of the hydrophobic effect highlight its dependence on length scale, emphasizing in particular the importance of interfaces that emerge in the vicinity of sizable hydrophobes. We recently showed that a faithful treatment of…
The exceptional interest in improving the limitations of data storage, molecular electronics, and optoelectronics has promoted the development of an ever increasing number of techniques used to pattern polymers at micro and nanoscale. Most…
Wettability is the affinity of a liquid for a solid surface. For energetic reasons, macroscopic drops of liquid are nearly spherical away from interfaces with solids, and any local deformations due to molecular-scale surface interactions…
When a mixture is confined, one of the phases can condense out. This condensate, which is otherwise metastable in the bulk, is stabilized by the presence of surfaces. In a sphere-plane geometry, routinely used in atomic force microscope…
This paper is a theoretical and a numerical investigation of the stability of a tip-cantilever system used in noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) when it oscillates close to a surface. No additional dissipative force is considered.…