ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the principles of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the rapid advances in AFM applications for surface characterization and force measurements. Understanding the interaction forces between two opposing surfaces in air and in liquid provides a basis for evaluating and controlling particle behavior in various processes. The AFM measurements in gas phase are conducted mainly to obtain adhesion forces between solid surfaces. The adhesion forces due to capillary force have been evaluated with changing multiple factors including roughness, deformability, hydrophilicity, geometrical shape the size of the surfaces employed. The interactions of surfaces in non-aqueous solvents have also been measured by AFM, though the number of studies is much less than those in aqueous solution. The development of a series of scanning probe microscopes instigated by the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope in 1982 is regarded as a cornerstone of progress in nanoscience and nanotechnology.
