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Review
. 2022 Nov 3:13:1256-1267.
doi: 10.3762/bjnano.13.104. eCollection 2022.

Studies of probe tip materials by atomic force microscopy: a review

Ke Xu  1 , Yuzhe Liu  1
Affiliations
Review

Studies of probe tip materials by atomic force microscopy: a review

Ke Xu et al. Beilstein J Nanotechnol. .

Abstract

As a tool that can test insulators' surface morphology and properties, the performance index of atomic force microscope (AFM) probes is the most critical factor in determining the resolution of microscopy, and the performance of probes varies in various modes and application requirements. This paper reviews the latest research results in metal, carbon nanotube, and colloidal probes and reviews their related methods and techniques, analyses the advantages and disadvantages of the improved probes compared with ordinary probes by comparing the differences in spatial resolution, sensitivity, imaging, and other performance aspects, and finally provides an outlook on the future development of AFM probes. This paper promotes the development of AFM probes in the direction of new probes and further promotes the broader and deeper application of scanning probe microscope (SPM).

Keywords: AFM; carbon nanotube probe; colloid probe; metal probe.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sharpening of a blunt tip and study of its stability after a macroscopic sample exchange. (a) F(z) curves corresponding to the milestones in the sharpening process. The red curve corresponds to the initial blunt tip. The blue curve, measured in the same Ir/G/Rh(111) sample, shows the decrease of the vdW force after the sharpening with clusters. The black curve is obtained with the same tip after exchanging the sample with a G/Pt(111) surface. Acquisition parameters: fo = 168274 Hz; k = 33.3 N/m; red curve: VCPD = −0.1 V; A = 13.5 nm. Blue curve: VCPD = −0.45 V; A = 16 nm. Black curve: VCPD = +0.2 V; A = 19.2 nm. (b) Atomically resolved NC-AFM image of the G/Pt(111) surface obtained with the cluster tip. Image size: 3.5 × 3.5 nm2. Imaging parameters: A =14.5 nm; VCPD = +0.18 V; Δf = −5.5 Hz. Figure 1 was reproduced from [25] (© 2021 M. D. Jiménez-Sánchez et al., published by Elsevier, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). This content is not subject to CC BY 4.0.
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Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2021YFB3201600), and the National Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning (Grant No. 2020-MS-219).

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