Definition
The noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) is a specific AFM technique primarily developed for application in vacuum where standard AFM cantilevers made from silicon or silicon nitride exhibit very high quality factors Q, what makes the response of the system slow if driven in AM or tapping mode (AFM, Tapping Mode). The technique to oscillate the cantilever also in high Q environments is called frequency-modulation (FM) mode. In contrast to the tapping or AM mode typically applied in air or liquids, this approach features a so-called self-driven oscillator, which uses the cantilever deflection itself as drive signal, thus ensuring that the cantilever instantaneously adapts to changes in the resonance frequency. The NC-AFM technique is the method of choice to obtain true atomic resolution on non-conduction surfaces with an atomic force microscope.
Overview
To obtain high resolution images with an atomic force microscope it is most important to prepare clean sample...
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Hölscher, H. (2016). AFM, Noncontact Mode. In: Bhushan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9780-1_32
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