Conclusions

The cantilever in tapping mode Atomic force microscope (TM-AFM) is one of crucial components and so it is very important to carry out a thorough dynamic analysis for the cantilever to further enhance the performance of the TM-AFM. In this paper, the cantileversample interaction and a harmonically forcing term in the TM-AFM have been considered. Numerical simulations have been used to investigate the nonlinear behaviors between the tip and the sample. The chaotic behavior appears to be generated via various system parameters including the amplitude of the external forcing term, equilibrium parameter, squeeze fi lm damping and material property. The dynamic system responses display very rich nonlinear dynamic characteristics under the effects of these parameters and show an alternate changing process among periodic motion, quasi-periodic motion and chaotic motion.