HD Adhesion force mapping

HybriD mode (HD mode) – scanning technique based on fast force-distance curves measurements with real-time processing of tip response

Enhancedvisualizationofnanoscalestructures - one of remarkable features of the HybriD Mode.

High-resolution mapping of local adhesion and stiffness in the HybriD Mode expands AFM compositional mapping of heterogeneous materials and transforms it into quantitative analysis of local mechanical properties.

This sequence of the events and with an idealized deflection profile of the probe in the single cycle of HD mode is illustrated in Figures 1a-b. As the probe-sample distance shrinks, the cantilever deflection first stays at the baseline level (point 1 in the deflection profile) and then it might bend down in response to adhesive or capillary forces (point 2).

On further approach, when the repulsive tip-sample forces dominate, the bending reverses upwards until it reaches the set-point level (point 3) chosen for lateral scan¬ning feedback. This is the turnaround Z-position of the cycle.

As the sample and the tip depart, the probe might experience strong adhesive interactions reflected by a well (point 4) in the deflection, before the probe fully detaches from the sample and the cantilever restores its baseline deflection (point 5).

The temporal deflection plot contains a wealth of useful information that can be detected, also mapped during lateral scanning and used for the extraction of quantitative local properties of the sample.