Non-Contact techniques

The Non-Contact AFM (NC AFM), invented in 1987 [1], offers unique advantages over other contemporary scanning probe techniques such as contact AFM and STM. The absence of repulsive forces (presenting in Contact AFM) in NC AFM permits it use in the imaging “soft” samples and, unlike the STM, the NC AFM does not require conducting samples.

    References

1.  J. Appl. Phys. 61, 4723 (1987).