Squeeze Film Damping Effect on Different Microcantilever Probes in Tapping Mode Atomic Force Microscope

During the operation of tapping mode atomic force microscope (TM-AFM), the gap between the cantilever and sample surface is very small (several nanometers to micrometers). Owing to the small gap distance and high vibration frequency, squeeze film force should be considered in TM-AFM. To explore the mechanism of squeeze film damping in TM-AFM, three theoretical microcantilever simplified models are discussed innovatively herein: tip probe, ball probe, and tipless probe. Experiments and simulations are performed to validate the theoretical models. It is of great significance to improve the image quality of atomic force microscope.