Emerging from Non-Contact Atomic
Force Microscopy, Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM)
is a special technique developed for the study of
magnetic materials and phenomena.
In MFM a magnetic tip is used to
probe the magnetic field above the sample surface.MFM
can reach lateral resolution of 50 nm and can sense
forces (force gradients) in the order of 10 pN.
In order to improve the efficiency
of MFM, Quartz Tuning Fork based MFM has been developed
to avoid the weak points of cantilevers. Magnetic
Dissipation Microscopy exploits dissipation phenomena
while analytical techniques respond to the needs
of the modern industry to work with high frequency
magnetic fields (High Frequency MFM and Magnetoresistive
Sensitivity Mapping i.e. MSM).
MFM is an important tool for the
magnetic storage media industry, as well as for
the semiconductor industry allowing quality evaluation
and structural defect imaging.
This is an abstract from the
Exploring Nanotechnology encyclopedia, the third tome of
Nanopolis encyclopedic series, providing insight into tomorrow's most promising topics.
Destined for an audience spanning the domains of Industry,
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To find out more visit the Exploring Nanotechnology Webpage.