Quantitative Measurements of Elastic and Viscoelastic Properties

Quantitatively characterizing nanomechanical properties has always been a holy grail for atomic force microscopy. This application note discusses some of the industry’s previous attempts at quantitative nanomechanical measurement, and introduces a method of performing contact resonance that overcomes many of the previous hurdles of the technique. Implementation, operation, and application examples of FASTForce Volume CR (contact resonance) are discussed, showing that the technique offers a fast, accessible, and easy-to-use means for quantitative characterization of elastic and viscoelastic properties.