摘要
The liquid bridge is one of the principal factors that cause artifacts in ambient-pressure atomic force microscope(AFM) images.Additionally, it is the main component of the adhesion force in ambient conditions. To understand the AFM imaging mechanism and the sample characteristics, it is essential to study the liquid bridge. This study interprets the physical mechanism involved in liquid bridge formation, which is composed of three different physical processes: the squeezing process, capillary condensation,and liquid film flow. We discuss the contributions of these three mechanisms to the volume and the capillary force of the liquid bridge in different AFM operation modes.
The liquid bridge is one of the principal factors that cause artifacts in ambient-pressure atomic force microscope （AFM） images. Additionally, it is the main component of the adhesion force in ambient conditions. To understand the AFM imaging mechanism and the sample characteristics, it is essential to study the liquid bridge. This study interprets the physical mechanism involved in liquid bridge formation, which is composed of three different physical processes： the squeezing process, capillary condensation, and liquid film flow. We discuss the contributions of these three mechanisms to the volume and the capillary force of the liquid bridge in different AFM operation modes.
基金
supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11072024 and 11572031)
the China Scholarship Fund (Grant No. 201208110350)
