Imaging nanoclusters in the constant height mode of the dynamic SFM

For the first time, high quality images of metal nanoclusters which were recorded in the constant height mode of a dynamic scanning force microscope (dynamic SFM) are shown. Surfaces of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) were used as a test substrate since metal nanoclusters with well defined and symmetric shapes can be created by epitaxial growth. We performed imaging of gold clusters with sizes between 5 and 15 nm in both scanning modes, constant Δf mode and constant height mode, and compared the image contrast. We notice that clusters in constant height images appear much sharper, and exhibit more reasonable lateral shapes and sizes in comparison to images recorded in the constant Δf mode. With the help of numerical simulations we show that only a microscopically small part of the tip apex (nanotip) is probably the main contributor for the image contrast formation. In principle, the constant height mode can be used for imaging surfaces of any material, e.g. ionic crystals, as shown for the system Au/NaCl(001).