The importance of cantilever dynamics in the interpretation of Kelvin probe force microscopy

A realistic interpretation of the measured contact potential difference (CPD) in Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is crucial in order to extract meaningful information about the sample. Central to this interpretation is a method to include contributions from the macroscopic cantilever arm, as we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2012-09, Vol.112 (6), p.64510-64510
Main Authors: Satzinger, Kevin J, Brown, Keith A, Westervelt, Robert M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accounting
Bending
Compounding
Compounds
Device Physics
Dynamics
Electrostatics
Microscopy
Simulation
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Summary:A realistic interpretation of the measured contact potential difference (CPD) in Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is crucial in order to extract meaningful information about the sample. Central to this interpretation is a method to include contributions from the macroscopic cantilever arm, as well as the cone and sharp tip of a KPFM probe. Here, three models of the electrostatic interaction between a KPFM probe and a sample are tested through an electrostatic simulation and compared with experiment. In contrast with previous studies that treat the KPFM cantilever as a rigid object, we allow the cantilever to bend and rotate; accounting for cantilever bending provides the closest agreement between theory and experiment. We demonstrate that cantilever dynamics play a major role in CPD measurements and provide a simulation technique to explore this phenomenon.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
0021-8979
DOI:10.1063/1.4754313