By Nanosurf AG
The essential short course for researchers using atomic force microscopy Welcome to this comprehensive short course on atomic force microscopy. This carefully curated course is designed to elevate your understanding and practical skills in AFM, from its foundational principles to advanced applications. Whether you're new to the field or a seasoned professional seeking to update your knowledge, the AFM Master Class is tailored to provide you with the essential theoretical foundations, practical tips, and real-world examples to master AFM. The AFM Master Class was streamed as a series of live webinars in 2022/2023 and is now available to everyone on YouTube. Overview of curriculum Session 1: Why use AFM? This session will introduce AFM as a surface characterization technique and set it in the context of other high-resolution nanoscale characterization methods. It will discuss when it is appropriate to use AFM as a characterization technique in terms of information provided and sample requirements. Session 2: Best practices for topography imaging This session will provide an overview of the most common application of AFM, which is to image 3-D topography of a sample on the nanoscale. This session introduce the most common imaging modes and focus on best practices for the practical user to obtain the highest quality topography images. Session 3: Phase imaging for material contrast Phase imaging is currently the most popular AFM mode to obtain material contrast on a sample. This session will include a discussion of what exactly phase measures and how it is useful both as an imaging mode and as an important indicator for topographic imaging. Session 4: Overview of electrical modes AFM is a powerful tool to characterize a variety of material properties, with electrical properties being chief among them. This session will cover the key AFM modes to measure a variety of electrical properties including surface potential, piezoelectric properties and conductivity. Session 5: Image processing for AFM images All AFM images require initial processing such as flattening or planefitting. This session will explain these basic image processing steps as well as additional useful image processing such as histograms, 3-D overlays, and masking. Specific examples will be shown using MountainSPIP software. Session 6: Calibrations for AFM measurements For certain quantitative measurements, calibrations of key AFM parameters such as cantilever spring constant and sensitivity are critical. This session will review the different methodologies for conducting the various calibrations. Session 7: Force spectroscopy Probably the most common AFM mode to measure mechanical properties such as modulus and adhesion is force curves, also known as force spectroscopy. This session will review what a force curve measures and the different models available for force curve analysis. Session 8: WaveMode The first commercial photothermal off-resonance tapping mode was launched as WaveMode in February 2022. This session will review WaveMode which enables fast imaging under gentle conditions for all samples in all environments.
