2 ABSTRACT We have studied the dependence of the tip-sample separation with the cantilever oscillation amplitude during imaging and manipulation of Au clusters deposited on a functionalized Si substrate. By simultaneously recording the cantilever deflection and oscillation amplitude, as the AFM tip is scanned over a feature with the feedback off, one can elucidate whether the tip was tapping on...

Tip size in atomic force microscopy (AFM) has a major impact on the resolution of images and on the results of nanoindentation experiments. Tip wear is therefore a key limitation in the application of AFM. Here we show, however, how wear can be turned into an advantage as it allows for directed tip shaping. We studied tip wear on high roughness polycrystalline titanium and diamond surfaces and ...

Ex vivo photographic temperature mapping of bipolar radiofrequency (RF) lesions in animal tissue is performed over a wide range of electrode tip spacings, tip lengths, tip diameters, tip temperatures, and lesion times. In vivo temperature measurements collected during clinical treatment of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain corroborate those collected ex vivo. Generation of a "strip lesion" connecting...

Results are reported from two molecular-dynamics simulations designed to yield insight into the engineering of nanometre-scale structures. The first is the initial stages of the indentation of a silicon substrate by an atomically-sharp diamond tip. Up to an indentation depth of approximately 0.6 nm the substrate responds elastically and the profile of the disturbed region of the substrate norma...