Digital Pulsed Force Mode
The Digital Pulsed Force Mode (DPFM) is a non-resonant, intermittent-contact mode. It avoids the surface damage that can result from operating in contact mode on soft samples and provides additional sample information.
When added to an AFM system, the DPFM extends the capabilities of the microscope beyond simply measuring topography to properties such as local stiffness, adhesion, viscosity, energy dissipation, contact time, long range forces etc. This can be done at normal scan rates, because the system works at up to several thousand pixels per second.
The electronics of the DPFM include a high speed data-acquisition system, a freely programmable modulation generator and a real-time data evaluation module. With the storage of the complete measurement, extensive post-processing data evaluation is performed.