Identification of Interaction Potentials in Dynamic Mode Atomic Force Microscopy

Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are devices employed in many nanotechnology fields for nanoscale imaging and surface manipulation at the atomic level. The interaction potential between the cantilever tip and the sample is typically obtained using force curves. Each force curve involves an approach and retract phase and the entire process is relatively slow. In this paper we present the non-parametric identification of the tip-sample interaction potential that has the potential to significantly reduce the time when compared to force curves