Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)

An atomic force microscope (AFM) scans a surface using an extremely fine tip. The coordinates recorded during the measurement enable the generation of a three-dimensional representation of the surface. For technical objects, resolutions in the sub-nanometre range can be achieved.

The atomic force microscope (AFM) used at METAS is a commercial instrument (model NX10) manufactured by Park. The measurement system consists of the AFM instrument mounted on an active six-axis vibration isolation table, an acoustic hood and the associated control components. The AFM can be used to measure spherical reference particles with mean diameters ranging from 50 nm to 1.0 µm, with a measurement uncertainty of Q[2.5 nm, 0.02*h].