Non-raster scanning in atomic force microscopy for high-speed imaging of biopolymers

Abstract

Recent advances in actuator design, controller architecture, and system optimization have made possible video-rate atomic force microscopy. Despite this grand achievement, there are systems with dynamics that occur much faster even than video rate. Novel methods are needed to push imaging rates even higher. Here we present a scheme which is complementary to other high-speed approaches to atomic force: non-raster scanning. Using in real-time the data measured by the tip of the microscope coupled with basic information about the sample, we describe an algorithm that steers the tip of the microscope to remain in the regions of interest. The algorithm, designed for imaging biopolymers and other string-like samples, reduces overall imaging time not by increasing the speed of scanning but by reducing the total sampling area. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.