Scanning force microscopy of semiconductor materials and devices

Tip microscopy techniques have become very widely spread methods of scanning imaging of microstructures or nanostructures in almost any material problem. This applies both to scanning tunneling microscopy and to scanning force microscopy (SFM). By SFM a specimen can be examined without the necessity of extensive sample preparation, allowing fast response of the microscopes to technological problems. Whereas SFM in its usual axial force mode is mainly used to image topography of the sampled surface or the distribution of surface atoms, newly developed techniques deliver more relevant information with respect to semiconductor properties.