Room-temperature reproducible spatial force spectroscopy using atom-tracking technique

A method for reproducible site-specific force spectroscopic measurements using frequency modulation atomic force microscopy at room temperature is presented. The stability and reproducibility requirements, fulfilled so far only in cryogenic environment, are provided through the compensation of the thermal drift using the atom-tracking technique. The method has been tested performing spectroscopic measurements on atomic positions of the Si(111)-(7x7) surface with Si tips. The room-temperature results presented here compare in quality to previously reported quantitative force spectroscopic data obtained at cryogenic temperatures. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.