Pushing the Limits of Nanoscale Imaging in Atomic Force Microscopy

The invention of scanning probe microscopy has revolutionized the field of nanotechnology. Atomic force microscopy is a branch of scanning probe microscopy in which an extremely sharp tip ($\sim $50 nm diameter) is held in contact with a sample surface. By maintaining constant force between the tip and the sample, the topography of a sample surface can be measured with high precision. The lateral resolution in this technique is however limited by the size of the tip. In this presentation, we present a method to deconvolve the effect of tip size and obtain higher resolution than presented by the experimentally obtained topographic image.