Sample-and-hold atomic force microscopy for fast operation

We have proposed and demonstrated a novel method for fast imaging in intermittent contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) using a sample-and-hold circuit for direct monitoring of cantilever deflection signals. This method enables us to construct a quasi-topographic image from tip heights at moments when the tip taps on a sample surface. As a result, we obtained the tip height image well corresponding to the sample topography at a scanning rate above 30 Hz/line without any other customization on both a cantilever and a piezo scanner in a commercial AFM system.