AFM: Atomic Force Microscope

The Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) allows measurement and manipulation of atomic surfaces, and was invented by Gerd Binnig, Calvin Quate, and Christoph Gerber in 1986. The AFM is one of a family of instruments developed after the invention of the Scanning Tunnelling Microscope (STM) in 1981, for which Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer won the Nobel Prize in 1986. Unlike the STM, the AFM does not require a dry, clean, conducting surface, and so can be used to measure insulators or biological samples.

Interim Write-Up in PDF Format.

(The experiment is currently located in MP248; last write-up revision: September 2022.)

Additional Resources:

Nanosurf CoreAFM webpage.
Nanosurf CoreAFM Operating Instructions on Quercus. (This is for APL use only and must not be copied or distributed.)
"Atomic-Force Microscope" G. Binnig, C.F. Quate, and Ch. Gerber, Physical Review Letters 56 (1986) 930-933.
Write-Up in PDF Format or Microsoft Word Format for an earlier AFM apparatus.

Photo of AFM Experiment Apparatus.

Our current AFM apparatus.