H. Holscher et al., Interpretation of "true atomic resolution" images of graphite (0001) in noncontact atomic force microscopy, PHYS REV B, 62(11), 2000, pp. 6967-6970
To examine the contrast formation by noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC
-AFM), we simulate images of graphite (0001) and compare them with experime
ntal results. Important features of the experimental data like the appearan
ce of a trigonal structure with a distance of 2.46 Angstrom between the max
ima and the experimental corrugation amplitudes are well reproduced. The de
tailed analysis shows that the NC-AFM images reveal the positions of the ca
rbon atoms as minima and the hollow sites as maxima, in contrast to a simpl
e interpretation of NC-AFM data.