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Sampling effects influence heights measured with atomic force microscopy
Author(s) -
Heymann J. B.,
Möller C.,
Müller D. J.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2818.2002.01039.x
Subject(s) - raster graphics , sampling (signal processing) , pixel , optics , atomic force microscopy , raster scan , surface (topology) , materials science , physics , mathematics , geometry , nanotechnology , computer science , computer vision , detector
Summary The atomic force microscope (AFM) is an exquisitely delicate probe measuring the height of a specimen at discrete sampling points in a fixed two‐dimensional (2D) raster. The resulting topograph is a 2D digital image, with each pixel representing a distinct height measurement. The height of an object is determined as the average of the maximum heights measured above the supporting surface. We show that such object heights derived from a variety of organic samples depend critically on the sampling or pixel size of the 2D raster. It is concluded that to obtain accurate specimen heights, the pixel size must be small enough to resolve submolecular structures and thus ensure representative sampling of the height variation on the surface.