THE SIMULTANEOUS MEASUREMENT OF ELASTIC, ELECTROSTATIC AND ADHESIVE PROPERTIES BY SCANNING FORCE MICROSCOPY - PULSED-FORCE MODE-OPERATION

We describe the pulsed-force mode, a new measuring mode for the scanni ng force microscope to image elastic, electrostatic and adhesive prope rties simultaneously with topography. The pulsed-force mode reduces la teral shear forces between the tip and the sample. Even very delicate samples can be mapped at high lateral resolution with full control ove r the force applied to the sample. The achieved scanning speed is comp arable to that in contact-mode operation. The pulsed-force mode electr onics can easily be added to many microscopes without much alteration of the original set-up. No change of the data acquisition software or of the feedback circuit is necessary.