Atomic Force Microscopy
Atomic Force Microscopy is one of a large group of scanning probe microscopies, of which the Scanning Tunneling Microscope was the first and most famous. The AFM is more versatile, however, in that the surface topography of non-electrically conductive samples can be imaged to very high resolution (typically ten nanometers), even in air. Small movements of the sample, during the scanning process, are accomplished by the use of precision piezoelectric manipulators (“inchworms”).
