Abstract:
A high-speed atomic force microscope (HS-AFM) requires a specialized set of hardware
and software and therefore improving video-rate HS-AFMs for general applications is an ongoing
process. To improve the imaging rate of an AFM, all components have to be carefully redesigned
since the slowest component determines the overall bandwidth of the instrument. In this work,
we present a design of a compact HS-AFM scan-head featuring minimal loading on the Z-scanner.
Using a custom-programmed controller and a high-speed lateral scanner, we demonstrate its working
by obtaining topographic images of Blu-ray disk data tracks in contact- and tapping-modes. Images
acquired using a contact-mode cantilever with a natural frequency of 60 kHz in constant deflection
mode show good tracking of topography at 400 Hz. In constant height mode, tracking of topography
is demonstrated at rates up to 1.9kHz for the scan size of 1 m 1 m with 100 100 pixels.
