High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) has recently been established. The dynamic processes and structural dynamics of protein molecules in action have been successfully visualized using HS-AFM. However, its maximum scan ranges in the X-and Y-directions have been limited to ∼1 μm and ∼4 μm, respectively, making it infeasible to observe the dynamics of much larger samples, including live cells. Here, we develop a wide-area scanner with a maximum XY scan range of ∼46 × 46 μm 2 by magnifying the displacements of stack piezoelectric actuators using a leverage mechanism. Mechanical vibrations produced by fast displacement of the X-scanner are suppressed by a combination of feed-forward inverse compensation and the use of triangular scan signals with rounded vertices. As a result, the scan speed in the X-direction reaches 6.3 mm/s even for a scan size as large as ∼40 μm. The nonlinearity of the X-and Y-piezoelectric actuators' displacements that arises from their hysteresis is eliminated by polynomial-approximation-based open-loop control. The interference between the X-and Y-scanners is also eliminated by the same technique. The usefulness of this wide-area scanner is demonstrated by video imaging of dynamic processes in live bacterial and eukaryotic cells.
Development of a wide-vieTv high-speed AFM scanner "'ith displacement magnification mechanism 'E'oshihide Kobashi, Takayuki Uchihashi, Toshio Ando (Depattment qf Mlrithematics and Ph.vsic's, Graduate Slrhoot qf'Nhturai Sbience and Tlechnotogy, Kanazau,a University) High-speed AFM has recently made it possible to directly visualize dynamic stmctural changes of protein molecules undcr
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.