= Atomic force microscopy
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= AFM
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<Atomic force microscopy> maps surfaces and measures small interactions using a sharp tip attached to a compliant <cantilever>. In a common modern readout, a laser reflects from the cantilever onto a split photodetector, turning bending into an electrical signal. A scanner moves the tip relative to the sample; feedback can adjust height to maintain a chosen interaction signal. With calibrated stiffness $k$, a small static deflection $\delta$ gives <force> $F\approx k\delta$. The measured image combines surface geometry, tip geometry and interaction physics, so narrow features can appear broadened. <Gerd Binnig>, <Calvin Quate> and <Christoph Gerber> introduced the instrument in 1986.https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.56.930[Binnig, Quate and Gerber, Atomic Force Microscope, 1986]{ref} Modern <force> measurements additionally require calibrated cantilever stiffness.https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/scanning-probe-microscopy-calibrations-and-standards[NIST, cantilever readout and calibration]{ref}
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