Contact Resonance Force Microscopy (CR-FM) is a leading atomic force microscopy technique for measuring viscoelastic nano-mechanical properties. Conventional piezo-excited CR-FM measurements have been limited to imaging in air, since the “forest of peaks” frequency response associated with acoustic excitation methods effectively masks the true cantilever resonance. Using photothermal excitation results in clean contact, resonance spectra that closely match the ideal frequency response of the cantilever, allowing unambiguous and simple resonance frequency and quality factor measurements in air and liquids alike. This extends the capabilities of CR-FM to biologically relevant and other soft samples in liquid environments. We demonstrate CR-FM in air and water on both stiff silicon/titanium samples and softer polystyrene-polyethylene-polypropylene polymer samples with the quantitative moduli having very good agreement between expected and measured values.
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August 2015
Research Article|
August 20 2015
Contact resonance atomic force microscopy imaging in air and water using photothermal excitation
Rev. Sci. Instrum. 86, 083706 (2015)
Article history
Received:
May 14 2015
Accepted:
July 23 2015
Citation
Marta KocunAleksander LabudaAnil GannepalliRoger Proksch; Contact resonance atomic force microscopy imaging in air and water using photothermal excitation. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 1 August 2015; 86 (8): 083706. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4928105
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