Atomic force microscope: Enhanced sensitivity

Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are a recent development representing the state of the art in measuring ultrafine surface features. Applications are found in such fields of research as biology, microfabrication, material studies, and surface chemistry. Fiber-optic interferometer techniques developed at LLNL offer the potential of improving the vertical resolution of these instruments by up to 2 orders of magnitude. We are attempting to replace the current AFM measurement scheme, which consists of an optical beam deflection approach, with our fiber-optic interferometer scheme, a much more sensitive displacement measurement technique. In performing this research, we hope to accomplish two important goals; (1) to enhance the sensitivity of the AFM, and (2) to achieve important improvements in our fiber-optic interferometer technology