简介:The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a powerful tool for imaging
individual biological molecules attached to a substrate and placed
in aqueous solution. At present, however, it is limited by the speed
at which it can 简介:The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a powerful tool for imaging
individual biological molecules attached to a substrate and placed
in aqueous solution. At present, however, it is limited by the speed
at which it can successively record highly resolved images. We
sought to increase markedly the scan speed of the AFM, so that in
the future it can be used to study the dynamic behavior of
biomolecules. For this purpose, we have developed a high-speed
scanner, free of resonant vibrations up to 60 kHz, small cantilevers
with high resonance frequencies (450–650 kHz) and small spring
constants (150–280 pNynm), an objective-lens type of deflection
detection device, and several electronic devices of wide bandwidth.
Integration of these various devices has produced an AFM
that can capture a 100 3 100 pixel2 image within 80 ms and
therefore can generate a movie consisting of many successive
images (80-ms intervals) of a sample in aqueous solution.详细>