[Back]


Publications in Scientific Journals:

R. Stark, G. Schitter, M. Stark, R. Guckenberger, A. Stemmer:
"State space model of freely vibrating and surface-coupled cantilever dynamics in atomic force microscopy";
Physical Review B, 69 (2004).



English abstract:
The dynamics of the microcantilever in atomic force microscopy ~AFM! is represented by a multipledegrees-
of-freedom state-space model and is discussed within the framework of system theory. The cantilever
dynamics is modeled as a linear time-invariant system with a nonlinear output feedback due to the tip-sample
interaction. This allows one to use the same model to analyze different aspects of atomic force microscopy
such as the dynamics of contact-mode or the dynamics of tapping-mode AFM. The state-space approach to the
dynamic response of the AFM cantilever allows for numerically efficient simulations. We show that not only
the eigenfrequency but also the modal damping of a cantilever interacting with a surface strongly depends on
the contact stiffness. This is important for a quantitative characterization of elastic sample properties. Additionally,
our model shows the presence of higher harmonics in tapping-mode AFM. The excitation of higher
eigenmodes can strongly distort the system response. The results illustrate that higher eigenmodes have to be
considered in the analysis of dynamic AFM.

Created from the Publication Database of the Vienna University of Technology.