Nanoscale spatial mapping of mechanical properties through dynamic atomic force microscopy

Dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM) was employed to spatially map the elastic modulus of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), specifically by using force modulation microscopy (FMM) and contact resonance (CR) AFM. In both of these techniques, a variation in the amplitude signal was observed when scanning over an uncovered step edge of HOPG. In comparison, no variation in the amplitude signal was observed when scanning over a covered step on the same surface. These observations qualitatively indicate that there is a variation in the elastic modulus over uncovered steps and no variation over covered ones. The quantitative results of the elastic modulus required the use of FMM, while the CR mode better highlighted areas of reduced elastic modulus (although it was difficult to convert the data into a quantifiable modulus). In the FMM measurements, single atomic steps of graphene with uncovered step edges showed a decrease in the elastic modulus of approximately 0.5%, which is compared with no change in the elastic modulus for covered steps. The analysis of the experimental data taken under varying normal loads and with several different tips showed that the elastic modulus determination was unaffected by these parameters.