SIMULATION OF AFM LFM BY MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS - ROLE OF LATERAL FORCE IN CONTACT-MODE AFM IMAGING/

A recently developed atomic force microscopy (AFM) simulator ACCESS (A FM simulation code for calculating and evaluating surface structures) has been extended to incorporate the molecular dynamics method. Using this ACCESS-II, LFM (lateral force microscopy) as well as AFM simulati ons were performed under dynamic conditions. Lateral forces felt by th e tip exhibited a behavior that, leads to the typical stick-slip pheno menon,and their magnitudes are close to that of the vertical force. Th e role of the lateral forces in contact-mode AFM imaging is discussed.