Tapping mode atomic force microscopy in liquids gives a substantial improvement in imaging quality and stability over standard contact mode. In tapping mode the probe-sample separation is modulated as the probe scans over the sample. This modulation causes the probe to tap on the surface only at the extreme of each modulation cycle and therefore minimizes frictional forces that are present when the probe is constantly in contact with the surface. This imaging mode increases resolution and reduces sample damage on soft samples. For our initial experiments we used a tapping frequency of 17 kHz to image deoxyribonucleic acid plasmids on mica in water. When we imaged the same sample region with the same cantilever, the plasmids appeared 18 nm wide in contact mode and 5 nm in tapping mode.

Using a new mode of scanning. the force modulation mode, surfaces are imaged by the atomic force microscope. The new contrast mechanism relies on variation in the surface elasticity. The cross section of a carbon fibre and epoxy composite is imaged, showing contrast between the two materials. Surface eiasticiiy variations across the cross section of the fibre are reveaied. A iarerai modulation mode is used to highlight atomic steps in gold.

We present the first atomic-resolution image of a surface obtained with an optical implementation of the atomic-force microscope (AFM). The native oxide on silicon was imaged with atomic resolution, and ≊5-nm resolution images of aluminum, mechanically ground iron, and corroded stainless steel were obtained. The relative merits of an optical implementation of the AFM as opposed to a tunneling implementation are discussed.

The high resolution of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) makes it a potentially important tool for the study of biomaterials. Biological materials can be imaged with the STM by a procedure in which fluid, nonconductive biomaterials are replaced by rigid and highly conductive freeze-fracture replicas. The three-dimensional contours of the ripple phase of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine bilayers were imaged with unprecedented resolution with commercial STMs and standard freeze-fracture techniques. Details of the ripple amplitude, asymmetry, and configuration unobtainable by electron microscopy or x-ray diffraction can be observed relatively easily with the STM.

Force microscopy in liquids offers many advantages including the mitigation of capillary forces and the simulation of real environments for biological and technological processes. Noncontact force microscopy in liquids adds the advantage of probing electrical and magnetic fields above surfaces. Here we demonstrate magnetic force imaging of recorded bits on a computer hard disk in air and in liquid. A method of noncontact force microscopy (patent pending, Digital Instruments) is used in which the tip is first scanned in contact to image topography and then rescanned above the surface to image long-range forces.