On dual actuation in atomic force microscopes

In this paper, a solution to the control problem of dual actuation in atomic force microscopes (AFMs) is presented. The use of two actuators to balance the trade-off between bandwidth, range, and precision has been recently extended to nano-positioning systems. Despite existing demands, this concept undergoes fundamental limitations towards its extension to AFMs. This is attributed to the non-conventional requirement imposed on the control signal response, as it used to create the image of the characterized surface.