AFM

The Atomic Force Microscope is a scanning probe microscope with a very high resolution. It consists of a very sharp tip at the end of a cantilever that scans the sample. The cantilever is flexible and can then feel the force that occurs between the tip and the sample. This force can be attractive or repulsive. The cantilever deflection is usually detected by a laser beam that is reflected by the cantilever to the photodiode detector.