Theory of elastic tip–surface interactions in atomic force microscopy

Abstract

We present a first-principles study of elastic surface deformations, limits of atomic resolution, and of atomic-scale friction in atomic force microscopy (AFM). In the case of a Pd AFM tip interacting with a graphite surface, we find that atomic resolution can be achieved in a narrow load range near ≊10−8 N (per Pd tip atom). For these loads, we determine the microscopic friction coefficient to be μ≊10−2.