WEAR-LESS OPERATION OF A MATERIAL SURFACE WITH A SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPE

摘要

The invention concerns a method for scanning a surface (52) of a material (50) with a scanning probe microscope or SPM (10), the SPM having a cantilever sensor (100) configured to exhibit distinct spring behaviors (C, Ck), the method comprising: - operating the SPM in contact mode, whereby the sensor is scanned on the material surface and a first spring behavior (C) of the sensor (e.g. a fundamental mode of flexure thereof) is excited by deflection of the sensor by the material surface; and - exciting with excitation means a second spring behavior (Ck) of the sensor at a resonance frequency thereof (e.g. one or more higher-order resonant modes) of the cantilever sensor to modulate an interaction of the sensor and the material surface and thereby reduce the wearing of the material surface.