Recent trends in AFM imaging speed and improvement methods

Abstract

: Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) has become the primary tool for observation and manipulation in nanotechnology research due to its nano-meter high resolution. However, the slow imaging speed is one of the critical reasons hindering the further development of AFM. This article first introduces the applications of AFM in cell biology in recent years, then expresses the importance of rapid imaging in cell biology, and finally summarizes the reasons affecting the imaging speed of AFM from three aspects: the limited bandwidth of system mechanical components, obvious inherent characteristics of piezoelectric scanners, and complex image processing algorithms. The improvement and optimization methods of mechanical parts or structure, control algorithm, and image processing are reviewed for different influence reasons. Then, the advantages of different improvement methods and improved imaging speed are discussed, and imaging quality improvement effects are compared. Imaging speed and resolution both are much higher than before while ensuring image quality without damaging the samples. This review aims to enable students, the public, and even experts of different knowledge backgrounds to learn directly and select realizable improvement method according to realistic conditions. Finally, the future development trend and further prospects of high-speed AFM are discussed.