Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Barcelona, C/Martí i Franquès 1, Barcelona, Spain.
Recent Pat Nanotechnol. 2011 Jan;5(1):27-36. doi: 10.2174/187221011794474985.
In the last years, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has become a powerful tool not only to study the surface morphology but also the nanomechanics of all kind of samples. In this paper, the applicability of this technique is reviewed and its basic aspects of operation, advantages and drawbacks of using the AFM probe as a picoindenter (Force Spectroscopy mode, FS-AFM) are discussed. The patents concerning picoindentation measurements are discussed in the text and special attention is paid to measurements performed on hard materials as ceramics, as they have not been as thoroughly reviewed in the literature as in the case of soft matter. The possibilities of AFM in the nanomechanics field include the quantitative determination of the Young's modulus (E) and the transition force from elastic to plastic deformation regimes, the measurement of adhesion forces and deformation mechanisms while applying vertical forces in the range from tens of pN to μN.
在过去的几年中，原子力显微镜（AFM）已不仅仅成为研究表面形态的有力工具，同时也是研究各种样品纳米力学的有力工具。本文综述了该技术的适用性，讨论了其基本操作原理、使用 AFM 探针作为压痕器（力谱模式，FS-AFM）的优缺点。本文还讨论了有关微压痕测量的专利，并特别关注了对硬材料（如陶瓷）进行的测量，因为与软物质相比，文献中对硬材料的测量并未进行如此彻底的综述。AFM 在纳米力学领域的应用包括定量测定杨氏模量（E）和从弹性变形到塑性变形的过渡力，测量在几十皮牛顿到微牛顿范围内施加垂直力时的粘附力和变形机制。
