Force Modulation Mode Harmonic Atomic Force Microscopy for Enhanced Image Resolution of Cell

This paper presents a force modulation (FM) mode harmonic atomic force microscope (AFM) for enhanced cell scanning quality. Compared with tapping mode AFM, FM mode AFM has less contact force and less damage to biological samples. Harmonic AFM has been widely applied to characterize the local mechanical properties of the specimens. In this paper, we integrate FM mode AFM and harmonic AFM to scan Hela cells. Experimental results show that the comprehensive scan mode can perform better image resolution than the conventional tapping mode AFM. Our comprehensive scanning strategy is a powerful and proper technique to study the complete mechanical properties of cells and improve the sensitivity of nanometer detection.