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G. Fantner, G. Schitter, J. Kindt, T. Ivanov, K. Ivanova, R. Patel, N. Holten-Andersen, J. Adams, P. J. Thurner, I. Rangelow, P.K. Hansma:
"Components for high-speed atomic force microscopy";
Ultramicroscopy, 106 (2006), S. 881 - 887.

Many applications in materials science, life science and process control would benefit from atomic force microscopes (AFM) with
higher scan speeds. To achieve this, the performance of many of the AFM components has to be increased. In this work, we focus on the
cantilever sensor, the scanning unit and the data acquisition. We manufactured 10 µm wide cantilevers which combine high resonance
frequencies with low spring constants (160-360 kHz with spring constants of 1-5 pN/nm). For the scanning unit, we developed a new
scanner principle, based on stack piezos, which allows the construction of a scanner with 15 µm scan range while retaining high resonance
frequencies (>10 kHz). To drive the AFM at high scan speeds and record the height and error signal, we implemented a fast Data
Acquisition (DAQ) system based on a commercial DAQ card and a LabView user interface capable of recording 30 frames per second at
150 X 150 pixels.