An ultra-fast scheme for sample-detection in dynamic-mode Atomic Force Microscopy

In typical dynamic mode operation of atomic force microscopes steady state signals like amplitude and phase are used for detection and imaging of material. In these methods, high quality factor of the cantilever results in high resolution, but low bandwidth and vice versa. In this paper we present a methodology that exploits the deflection signal during the transients of the cantilever motion. The principle overcomes the limitations on the trade off between resolution and bandwidth present in existing methods and makes it independent of the quality factor. Experimental results provided corroborate the theoretical development.