Ultra-small oscillation amplitude nc-AFM/STM imaging, force and dissipation spectroscopy of Si(100)(2×1)

Si(100)(2×1) surface is imaged using a new nc-AFM (non-contact atomic force microscopy)/STM with sub-Ångstrom oscillation amplitudes using stiff hand-made tungsten levers. Simultaneous force gradient and scanning tunneling microscopy images of individual dimers and atomic scale defects are obtained. We measured force–distance and dissipation–distance curves with different tips. Some of the tips show long-range force interactions, whereas some others resolve short-range interatomic force interactions. We observed that the tips showing short-range force interaction give atomic resolution in force gradient scans. This result suggests that short-range force interactions are responsible for atomic resolution in nc-AFM. We also observed an increase in the dissipation as the tip is approached closer to the surface, followed by an unexpected decrease as we pass the inflection point in the energy–distance curve.