A mechanical microscope: High-speed atomic force microscopy

An atomic force microscope capable of obtaining images in less than 20 ms is presented. By utilizing a microresonator as a scan stage, and through the implementation of a passive mechanical feedback loop with a bandwidth of more than 2 MHz, a 1000-fold increase in image acquisition rate relative to a conventional atomic force microscope is obtained. This has allowed images of soft crystalline and molten polymer surfaces to be collected in 14.3 ms, with a tip velocity of 22.4 cm s(-1) while maintaining nanometer resolution. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.