AFM image artifacts

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has become an important tool in surface science and nanotechnology. It is obvious that the intrinsic limitations of AFM must be understood in order to get useful information about surface structure of the material under study. The ability to recognize artifacts should assist in reliable evaluation of instrument operation and in reporting of data. In this paper, we discuss the most frequently encountered image artifacts in atomic force microscopy. A variety of artifacts are illustrated by the results obtained with the aid of contact AFM (C-AFM), which can help avoid misinterpretations. It is shown that, despite inaccuracies in AFM image generation, in many cases valuable information can be obtained.