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AFM in Liquids

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Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology

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Synonyms

Atomic force microscopy in liquids; Scanning force microscopy in liquids

Definition

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) in liquids is the application of AFM in liquid environment, i.e., in which both the surface under investigation and the scanning probe are immersed in liquid.

Overview and Definitions

AFM is a microscopy technique that can provide three-dimensional images of virtually any surface at nanometer-scale resolution. It relies on the force between a sharp probe and the surface, which is detected while scanning the probe over the sample. Unlike many other microscopy techniques at such a resolution, it can readily be applied in liquid environment.

An atomic force microscope consists of a sharp probe (“tip”) mounted on a microfabricated cantilever beam and a mechanism (“scanner”) to scan the tip over the surface at subnanometer resolution [1], see Fig. 1. Typically, an optical detection scheme is used to detect the deflection of the cantilever. Via the spring constant of...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Room B101, 17-19 Gordon Street, WC1H 0AH, London, UK

    Bart W. Hoogenboom

Authors
  1. Bart W. Hoogenboom
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Correspondence to Bart W. Hoogenboom .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Biomimetics (NLB²), Ohio State University Nanoprobe Lab. for Bio- & Nanotechnology, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    Bharat Bhushan

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Hoogenboom, B.W. (2015). AFM in Liquids. In: Bhushan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6178-0_108-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6178-0_108-2

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  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6178-0

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