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Abstract: Surface roughness can be measured using a three-dimensional topographic technique called atomic force microscopy (AFM), with a high atomic resolution. AFM is an advanced scanning method that can be used to conduct in-depth examinations of samples. Images can be magnified upto a level of 10-10 m with this Hi-res technology. Its near-field approach relies on the interface between a pointed tip in addition with the atoms that make up the sample surface. Nearly any quantifiable force contact, such as the electrostatic force, van der Waals, thermal force and magnetic force may be mapped using atomic forces, making them ideal for mapping the tip-sample contact. Changing the AFM probe tip allows for a wide range of surface property investigations such as evaluation of friction, adhesion forces, and viscoelastic characteristics. The Young's modulus can be calculated, and magnetic and electrostatic characteristics can also be imaged as an alternative method. Polymers, adsorbed molecules, films, fibers, and airborne powders are all amenable to investigation using AFM, as are samples in liquids or under controlled conditions. Over the past decade, the atomic force microscope (AFM) has turn out to be powerful enough to collect nano structural and biomechanical characteristics of biological samples such biomolecules and cells. Still, most clinicians don't comprehend AFM or how to use it for force measurement. Therefore, this article reviews the works related to the basic theory of the AFM modality from Blackwell Synergy, Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, Embase and Elsevier from year 2000–2023 and discusses its benefits in the field of surface engineering.
Keywords: Atomic force microscopy, Scanning probe microscopy, Three-dimensional topography, AFM, Scanning tunneling microscopy, surface analysis, high atomic resolution, surface engineering.
1. Introduction
The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a form of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), which moves a small probe across a surface moderately than deploying electrons or a light beam to do the same thing [1].  The first prototype of the AFM was created in the 1960s. With this particular kind of microscope, it is possible to map in three dimensions the topography of a surface. Techniques of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), for instance the AFM (atomic force microscopy), provides resolutions that are far higher than the limit of optical diffraction by more than a thousand times. The data is collected by "touching" the surface through a mechanical probe in order to acquire the information [2]. Piezoelectric devices, which allow very small but perfect motions to be made in response to an electronic command, make it possible to perform precise scanning (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Atomic Force Microscope
In spite of its name, the Atomic Force Microscope does not actually use any atomic force in its operations. The AFM has the capability to map topography, measure forces, and manipulate objects. An AFM is proficient in measurement of the forces which are used on the sample via the probe in terms of their particular locations in the apparatus [3]. The use of this technique, that is known as the force spectroscopic technique, likely helps to ascertain the mechanical characteristics of the studied sample, for instance, the toughness of the sample under study as demarcated through its Young's modulus. Several kinds of scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) exist besides the atomic force microscope (AFM), such as the scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) and the near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM) [4]. The AFM was the first form of SPM ever developed. STM provides the 2-dimensional image of the studied surface while AFM provides the 3-dimensional profile of the surface of the Nano sized objects. Nevertheless; the AFM is a more advanced version of the STM that incorporates a pointed tip that could be changed in various different options to study the surface characteristics. The STM is capable of photographing nearly any form of surface at nano levels [5]. Hence, in comparison to the STM, the AFM represents a significant technological advancement (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Advanced tip of Atomic Force Microscope
This review will mostly concentrate over the atomic force microscope (AFM) and many ways it may be applied in the domains of biology and medicine.
2. Background on AFM Techniques
The scanning tunnelling microscope (STM), developed by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer in the early 1980s and recognized with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986, marked the beginning of the field of scanning probe microscopy (SPM).  The STM, however, must only be used on either the conducting or the semi-conducting surface samples. The collaboration between IBM and Stanford University that resulted in the discovery of the atomic force microscope (AFM) by Gerd Binning, Calvin Quate, and Christoph Gerber revolutionized nanoscale characterization and measurements and allowed for the study of insulators. This was accomplished by developing the AFM by Gerd Binning, Calvin Quate, and Christoph Gerber. [6]. The most commonly utilized form of SPM today is atomic force microscopy (AFM), hence the two terms are typically used interchangeably. The probe used in atomic force microscopy is a cantilever, having an intense point on its free end. Simple metal wires which are used in scanning tunnelling microscopy and glass fibers which are used in scanning nearfield optical microscopy/SNOM/NSOM) also belong to the superfamily of SPM probes.
These days, AFM encompasses a wide range of techniques, each of which uses a distinct contact amid the used probe and the studied surface to characterize a specific set of material properties. AFM can be used to characterize many diverse kinds of properties, counting those related to mechanical interaction such as the electrostatic forces, electrical current, electrical interaction like the capacitance adhesion, magnetic interaction, magnetic susceptibility, magnetic moment, stiffness, work function, friction, dissipation and the optical spectroscopy. In lithographic analysis and molecular pulling surface investigations, the probe of AFM can be cast-off to operate, inscribe, or pull-on the studied surfaces as well, in addition to its imaging [7,8].
3. Working Principle of AFM
The probe of an atomic force microscope (AFM) is a lintel with a shrill culmination that is used to examine the material's surface. Cantilevers are typically constructed from the silicon or silicon compounds like nitrides of silicon, and their tip radius of curvature is on the nanoscale scale. As the tip of the cantilever's is fetched near to the studied surface under analysis, forces are exerted amid the tip and sample surface, and therefore beam bends in the direction of these forces as per the standard Hooke's law. Based on these conditions, AFM is capable to quantity forces such as the strong and weak chemical bonding, mechanical forces, different type of contact forces, capillary forces, solvation forces, weak van der Waals force, strong electrostatic force, magnetic force, Casimir force, and many others. Many factors, not just force, can be measured at once with the help of several specialized probes [9,10]. The AFM can be switched between...