atomic force microscope

American  

noun

plural

atomic force microscopes

1. a high-resolution microscope used to scan and map the features of a surface at the atomic level by means of a probe that registers variations in the interatomic forces acting between it and the surface under examination.

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atomic force microscope Scientific  

1. A microscope that uses a tiny probe mounted on a cantilever to scan the surface of an object. The probe is extremely close to—but does not touch—the surface. As the probe traverses the surface, attractive and repulsive forces arising between it and the atoms on the surface induce forces on the probe that bend the cantilever. The amount of bending is measured and recorded, providing a map of the atoms on the surface. Atomic force microscopes can achieve magnification of a factor of 5 × 10 ⁶, with a resolution of 2 angstroms, sufficient to resolve individual carbon atoms.

2. Also called scanning force microscope

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Example Sentences

The researchers then measured the actual positions of the holes with an atomic force microscope, ensuring that the positions were traceable to the SI.

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2024

To find out, TU researchers used a very sensitive atomic force microscope.

From Science Daily • Jan. 9, 2024

Gerd Binnig shared the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience in 2016 for inventing the atomic force microscope.

From Scientific American • Sep. 9, 2021

If there is a ridge of electron density — like that associated with a chemical bond — tilting helps the atomic force microscope to obtain a clear contrast with the background.

From Nature • Mar. 19, 2018

His task was to use an atomic force microscope to get a "snapshot" of the DNA molecule.

From Time Magazine Archive