%0 Journal Article
%T Modeling noncontact atomic force microscopy resolution on corrugated surfaces
%A Kristen M. Burson
%A Mahito Yamamoto
%A William G. Cullen
%J Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
%D 2012
%I 
%R 10.3762/bjnano.3.26
%X Key developments in NC-AFM have generally involved atomically flat crystalline surfaces. However, many surfaces of technological interest are not atomically flat. We discuss the experimental difficulties in obtaining high-resolution images of rough surfaces, with amorphous SiO2 as a specific case. We develop a quasi-1-D minimal model for noncontact atomic force microscopy, based on van der Waals interactions between a spherical tip and the surface, explicitly accounting for the corrugated substrate (modeled as a sinusoid). The model results show an attenuation of the topographic contours by ~30% for tip distances within 5   of the surface. Results also indicate a deviation from the Hamaker force law for a sphere interacting with a flat surface.
%K graphene
%K model
%K noncontact atomic force microscopy
%K SiO2
%K van der Waals
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.3.26