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Phase Imaging

  • Page ID
    278633
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    Phase Imaging is a powerful extension of tapping mode AFM that provides nanometer-scale information about surface structure.1 Phase imaging detects variations in composition, adhesion, friction, viscoelasticity and other properties by mapping the phase of the cantilever oscillation during tapping mode, Figure 1. Some applications include:

    • identification of contaminants
    • mapping of different components in composite materials
    • differentiating regions of high and low surface adhesion or hardness

    An excellent interactive demonstration of phase imaging can be found here.

    Fig01.png
    Figure 1. Example of Phase imaging. A) Diagram depicting phase shift of oscillating cantilever frequency in response to variations on a surface. B) Height profile of copolymer C) Phase contrast. The phase image provides additional contrast mapping of the surface.

    Online Images:

    Excellent source for images using phase, CFM and friction contrast. NIST Building and Fire Research Laboratory Image Gallery http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/nanoscience/BFRL_AFM.html

    References:

    1. Bonnell, D. A., Ed. Scanning Probe Microscopy and Spectroscopy: Theory, Techniques, and Applications; Wiley-VCH: New York, 2001.

    This page titled Phase Imaging is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.5 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Heather A. Bullen & Robert A. Wilson via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.