Mirror Effect from Atomic Force Microscopy Profiles Enables Tip Reconstruction

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to accurately reconstruct AFM tips by analyzing convolution effects using cubic nanoparticles, improving tip characterization despite nanoparticle variability.

Contribution

The authors introduce a two-step process for tip reconstruction that estimates the tip-to-face angle and radius using cubic nanoparticles, validated against manufacturer specifications.

Findings

Method accurately estimates tip radius and angle.

Results agree with manufacturer specifications.

Applicable to real nanoparticle distributions.

Abstract

In this work, the tip convolution effect in atomic force microscopy is revisited to illustrate the capabilities of cubic objects for determination of the tip shape and size. Using molecular-based cubic nanoparticles as a reference, a two-step tip reconstruction process has been developed. First, the tip-to-face angle is estimated by means of an analysis of the convolution error while the tip radius is extracted from the experimental profiles. The results obtained are in good agreement with specification of the tip supplier even though the experiments have been conducted using real distribution of nanoparticles with dispersion in size and aspect ratio. This demonstrates the reliability of our method and opens the door for a more accurate tip reconstruction by using nano-lithography patterns.