Scanning microdeformation microscopy

Abstract

We have developed a new scanning microscope based on a vibrating contact tip and piezoelectric detection. Scanning the sample reveals surface topography and mainly, subsurface elastic properties. The preliminary images presented show surface and subsurface inhomogeneities in metallic samples. Lateral resolution is essentially related to the tip diameter as in near-field microscopes.

Materials Characterization Using High-Frequency Atomic Force Microscopy and Friction Force Microscopy

“…The deformation is assumed to be pure elastic. Generally speaking, the maximum penetration depth is of the order of three to five times the contact radius [7 ], which is in this case between 30 and 150 nrn. Thus, the tip is not only restored by the tantalum elasticity, but also senses the silicon and silicon-oxide beneath the tantalum layer.…”

Imaging interferometry to measure surface rotation field

“…Several methods are available to measure the elastic properties of an isotropic thin film material (described by its Young modulus E and Poisson ratio ν). But many of them, such as nanoindentation [1], atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM, [2]), and single-mode scanning microdeformation microscopy (SMM, [3][4][5][6][7]), only provide a combination of properties [E=1 − ν 2 for the nanoindentation]. Basically, this latter microscope uses a cantilever, with a microtip (radius ∼10 μm) at its end, which vibrates in permanent contact with the sample to characterize.…”

Image contrast reversals in contact resonance atomic force microscopy

“…Contact resonance (CR) techniques such as atomic force acoustic microscopy and ultrasonic atomic force microscopy (UAFM) have been developed for advanced characterization of elasticity. [2][3][4][5] By modulating the tip-sample contact with an ultrasonic frequency oscillation, these methods show potential applications in reliable and accurate characterizations of elastic properties with nanoscale resolution. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] In CR-AFM, either or both the tip and the sample are vibrated with an ultrahigh frequency while the tip contacting the sample surface.…”