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Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) for Sensing, Imaging, and Measurement

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A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2024) | Viewed by 7221

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Dr. Sangmin An

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Guest Editor

Department of Physics, Institute of Photonics and Information Technology, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Jeollabuk, Republic of Korea
Interests: AFM; friction; nanofabrication; nanomaterials; graphene; CNT; TMDC; 3D printing
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Atomic force microscope is a critical sensing tools for the investigation of zero-dimensional (quantum dot and nanoscale liquid), one-dimensional (carbon nanotube) and two-dimensional (graphene and transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers) materials. It has advantageous properties such as the ability of high-resolution imaging along with the quantitative characterization of intrinsic (mechanical, electrical, chemical, magnetic and optical) properties of nanomaterials.

The aim of this Special Issue “Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) for Sensing, Imaging and Measurement” is to bring together and specify various methods for sensing, imaging and measurement through the use of atomic force microscope-based advanced technology for revealing intrinsic properties of nanomaterials with the following themes:

1) High-resolution imaging via an AFM;

2) Electrical measurement via an AFM as a Kelvin probe force microscope (KPFM), conductive AFM (C-AFM) and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM);

3) Optical apparatus combined with an AFM for sensing the energy structure of materials;

4) Young’s modulus measurement of organic/inorganic materials via an AFM;

5) Sensing and imaging of the magnetic micro/nanomaterials via a magnetic force microscope (MFM);

6) The development and application of advanced AFM systems related with energy-related materials, semiconducting materials, etc.

Dr. Sangmin An
Guest Editor

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Keywords

AFM
KPFM
C-AFM
PFM
Optics+AFM
QTF-AFM
advanced AFM
Young's modulus
energy materials
friction
TERS
TEPL
2D Materials
TMDC
graphene
CNT
nanomaterials
nanofabrications
nano-sensors

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2981 KiB

Open AccessArticle

DNA Sensing Platforms: Novel Insights into Molecular Grafting Using Low Perturbative AFM Imaging

by Silvia Maria Cristina Rotondi, Paolo Canepa, Elena Angeli, Maurizio Canepa and Ornella Cavalleri

Sensors 2023, 23(9), 4557; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23094557 - 08 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1433

Abstract

By using AFM as a nanografting tool, we grafted micrometer-sized DNA platforms into inert alkanethiol SAMs. Tuning the grafting conditions (surface density of grafting lines and scan rate) allowed us to tailor the molecular density of the DNA platforms. Following the nanografting process, AFM was operated in the low perturbative Quantitative Imaging (QI) mode. The analysis of QI AFM images showed the coexistence of molecular domains of different heights, and thus different densities, within the grafted areas, which were not previously reported using contact AFM imaging. Thinner domains corresponded to low-density DNA regions characterized by loosely packed, randomly oriented DNA strands, while thicker domains corresponded to regions with more densely grafted DNA. Grafting with densely spaced and slow scans increased the size of the high-density domains, resulting in an overall increase in patch height. The structure of the grafted DNA was compared to self-assembled DNA, which was assessed through nanoshaving experiments. Exposing the DNA patches to the target sequence produced an increase in the patch height, indicating that hybridization was accomplished. The relative height increase of the DNA patches upon hybridization was higher in the case of lower density patches due to hybridization leading to a larger molecular reorganization. Low density DNA patches were therefore the most suitable for targeting oligonucleotide sequences. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) for Sensing, Imaging, and Measurement)

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17 pages, 4582 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Atomic Force Microscopy Probing and Analysis of Polyimide Supramolecular Systems for Sensor Devices

by Iuliana Stoica, Andreea Irina Barzic, Cristian Ursu, George Stoian, Elena Gabriela Hitruc and Ion Sava

Sensors 2023, 23(9), 4489; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23094489 - 05 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1272

Abstract

A series of polyimide supramolecular systems containing different amounts of azochromophore were tested as flexible supports that can be used in the fabrication of certain devices, such as sensors for monitoring the temperature changes, by coating them with conductive metals. That is why it is required to have good interfacial compatibility between the flexible substrate and the inorganic layer. The interface of the sensor elements must be designed in such a way as to improve the sensitivity, accuracy, and response time of the device. Laser irradiation is one of the commonly employed techniques used for surface adaptation by patterning polyimides to increase contact and enhance device reliability and signal transmission. In this context, this work highlights unreported aspects arising from the azo-polyimide morphology, local nanomechanical properties and wettability, which are impacting the compatibility with silver. The texture parameters indicate an improvement of the modulations’ quality arising after laser irradiation through the phase mask, increasing the bearing capacity, fluid retention, and surface anisotropy when the amount of the azochromophore increases. The force curve spectroscopy and wettability studies indicated that the modification of the polymer morphology and surface chemistry lead to a better interfacial interaction with the metal lines when the azo component and the polyamidic acid are in equimolar quantities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) for Sensing, Imaging, and Measurement)

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19 pages, 4998 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Atomic Force Microscopy Micro-Indentation Methods for Determining the Elastic Modulus of Murine Articular Cartilage

by Katherine M. Arnold, Delphine Sicard, Daniel J. Tschumperlin and Jennifer J. Westendorf

Sensors 2023, 23(4), 1835; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23041835 - 07 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2222

Abstract

The mechanical properties of biological tissues influence their function and can predict degenerative conditions before gross histological or physiological changes are detectable. This is especially true for structural tissues such as articular cartilage, which has a primarily mechanical function that declines after injury and in the early stages of osteoarthritis. While atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to test the elastic modulus of articular cartilage before, there is no agreement or consistency in methodologies reported. For murine articular cartilage, methods differ in two major ways: experimental parameter selection and sample preparation. Experimental parameters that affect AFM results include indentation force and cantilever stiffness; these are dependent on the tip, sample, and instrument used. The aim of this project was to optimize these experimental parameters to measure murine articular cartilage elastic modulus by AFM micro-indentation. We first investigated the effects of experimental parameters on a control material, polydimethylsiloxane gel (PDMS), which has an elastic modulus on the same order of magnitude as articular cartilage. Experimental parameters were narrowed on this control material, and then finalized on wildtype C57BL/6J murine articular cartilage samples that were prepared with a novel technique that allows for cryosectioning of epiphyseal segments of articular cartilage and long bones without decalcification. This technique facilitates precise localization of AFM measurements on the murine articular cartilage matrix and eliminates the need to separate cartilage from underlying bone tissues, which can be challenging in murine bones because of their small size. Together, the new sample preparation method and optimized experimental parameters provide a reliable standard operating procedure to measure microscale variations in the elastic modulus of murine articular cartilage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) for Sensing, Imaging, and Measurement)

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18 pages, 4242 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatially-Resolved Study of the Electronic Transport and Resistive Switching in Polycrystalline Bismuth Ferrite

by Alexander Abramov, Boris Slautin, Victoria Pryakhina, Vladimir Shur, Andrei Kholkin and Denis Alikin

Sensors 2023, 23(1), 526; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23010526 - 03 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1618

Abstract

Ferroelectric materials attract much attention for applications in resistive memory devices due to the large current difference between insulating and conductive states and the ability of carefully controlling electronic transport via the polarization set-up. Bismuth ferrite films are of special interest due to the combination of high spontaneous polarization and antiferromagnetism, implying the possibility to provide multiple physical mechanisms for data storage and operations. Macroscopic conductivity measurements are often hampered to unambiguously characterize the electric transport, because of the strong influence of the diverse material microstructure. Here, we studied the electronic transport and resistive switching phenomena in polycrystalline bismuth ferrite using advanced conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) at different temperatures and electric fields. The new approach to the CAFM spectroscopy and corresponding data analysis are proposed, which allow deep insight into the material band structure at high lateral resolution. Contrary to many studies via macroscopic methods, postulating electromigration of the oxygen vacancies, we demonstrate resistive switching in bismuth ferrite to be caused by the pure electronic processes of trapping/releasing electrons and injection of the electrons by the scanning probe microscopy tip. The electronic transport was shown to be comprehensively described by the combination of the space charge limited current model, while a Schottky barrier at the interface is less important due to the presence of the built-in subsurface charge. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) for Sensing, Imaging, and Measurement)

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