Using atomic force microscopy to investigate solution crystal growth

Over the past ten years, the atomic force microscope (AFM) has become a common tool for investigating the growth of crystal surfaces from solutions, In this chapter, we describe the basic operation of the AFM and present examples of its application to crystal growth science, we discuss the use of ex situ force microscopy to investigate surface morphology and coarsening in air, and describe the experimental arrangement used to investigate growth in situ. We use examples from a number of crystal systems to illustrate the use of in situ imaging to investigate dislocation source activity, 2D and 3D nucleation, critical step length, step kinetics, step roughness, and impurity-step interactions. Finally, we point out future directions for AFM investigations of solution crystal growth.