The Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) scans the topography of a sample surface using a microsized flexible cantilever. In tapping-mode AFM, the tip-surface interactions are strongly nonlinear, rapidly changing and hysteretic. This paper explores, numerically, a flexible beam model that includes attractive, adhesive and repulsive contributions, as well as the interaction of the capillary fluid layers that cover both the tip and the sample in ambient conditions common in experiments. Forward-time simulation has been applied with an event handling numerical technique for dynamic analysis, and the Amplitude-Phase-Distance (APD) curves have been extracted. The branches of periodic solutions are found to end precisely where the cantilever comes into grazing contact with event surfaces in state space, corresponding to the onset of capillary interactions and the onset of repulsive forces associated with surface contact. The dissipated power, in the presence of conservative tip-sample interaction forces where the source of hysteresis is the formation and rupture of a liquid bridge between the tip and the sample, has been measured too. This simulation provides a more accurate way to validate the design of a new AFM probe and AFM controller than simulations which use the lumped-mass model.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.