Transitional tapping atomic force microscopy for high-resolution imaging

An atomic force microscopy tapping method for imaging a surface of a sample, the method comprising:

• determining and setting a free amplitude (A0) of a cantilever of an atomic force microscope (AFM);
• determining and setting an operational tapping amplitude (A) of the cantilever based on the free amplitude (A0);
• initializing and setting a steady-state timescale (τc) of the cantilever interacting with the surface of the sample to be imaged;
• determining an average deformation amplitude (Δa) relative to the operational tapping amplitude (A), the average deformation amplitude (Δa) resulting from the cantilever tapping and deforming the surface of the sample;
• optimizing the steady-state timescale (τc) to correspond with a relaxation timescale (τsurf) of the surface following deformation by the cantilever by setting the condition of reaching the set operational tapping amplitude (A) when the average deformation amplitude (Δa)≠0;
• scanning the surface of the sample by tapping the surface with the cantilever;
• and
• collecting imaging parameters for generating an image of the surface.