Atomic Force Microscopes

Invented:

1982

Cost:

£xpensive

Resolution:

1x10^-10m (depth)

3x10^-8m (lateral)

How do Atomic Force Microscopes work?

Atomic Force Microscopes run a tip over the surface that you want them to image. As this tip runs over the surface, the tip goes up and down a very tiny, but measurable amount. In order to measure this, a laser is reflected off of the top of the cantilever (a long thing fixed only at one end), on the tip's end. The reflected laser is detected, and where it hits the detector is used to determine the topography of the surface, and to return an image.

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Advantages:

• Provides a 3D topographic image of a surface (As opposed to a 2D top-down image)
• Doesn't require a vacuum or special temperatures - it can be used at room temperature and pressure, or even in some liquids (Can be used on organisms)
• Very high resolution, even for atomic microscopy

Disadvantages

• Slow (Cannot be used for real-time observations)
• Can only image a small area at a time
• Can damage or otherwise influence the sample being imaged

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