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Wear characteristics of atomic force microscopy tips: A review

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Abstract

Based on the interaction between the extremely sharp tip and the sample, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been widely utilized to explore the surface phenomena at the nano-scale. During the AFM measurements such as topographical imaging, force spectroscopy, and friction loop, the tip is often damaged due to wear, which in turn forms the artifacts in the AFM images and increase the uncertainties of material properties measured by an AFM. In this paper, based on the numerous studies performed by researchers, the wear characteristics of silicon- and carbon-based tips, and metal coated tips are comprehensively reviewed, including the characterization methods and models for tip wear, with an aim to provide an overview of key findings of tip wear that can be useful for AFM scientists and engineers.

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  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ulsan, 93 Daehak-ro, Nam-gu, Ulsan, South Korea, 680-749

    Koo-Hyun Chung

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Chung, KH. Wear characteristics of atomic force microscopy tips: A review. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 15, 2219–2230 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-014-0584-6

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