KENBIKYO Vol.52▶No.3 2017
■Review

Frequency Modulation Atomic Force Microscopy for Observation and Manipulation of Molecular Structures

Shigeki Kawai

Abstract: Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) have been widely used for exploring structural information of solid surfaces with atomic resolution. However, in contrast to STM, AFM had been rarely employed for studies of molecules adsorbed on surfaces due the limited resolution down to sub-nanometer scale as well as the difficulty to scan on such the soft materials. Since the first observation of inner structure of molecule with a carbon monoxide terminated AFM tip in 2009, AFM became a powerful tool in a field of surface chemistry. Here, this article describes basics of the functionalized AFM with CO and noble gas atoms as well as recent related studies.

Key words: atomic force microscopy, molecule, on-surface chemical reaction, functionalized tip, high-resolution imaging