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Feel the force

Magnetic resonance force microscopy

Nature Physics volume 4, pages S18–S19 (2008)Cite this article

In conventional MRI, the sample is placed in a magnetic field gradient, which causes all the unpaired spins in the sample to point in the same direction as the magnetic field. A resonant radiofrequency (RF) pulse is then used to 'flip' the spins so that they point in the opposite direction. Over time, the spins flip back again, emitting an RF signal that contains a wealth of information about the sample.

The basic idea of AFM is to scan a flexible cantilever containing a sharp tip over a surface, and to measure the deflection of the cantilever caused by the forces acting between the surface and the tip. Many different forces — including van der Waals, chemical and magnetic — can be exploited in AFM to produce images of the surface with atomic resolution.

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  1. Chief Editor, Nature Nanotechnology,

    Peter Rodgers

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  1. Peter Rodgers
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Rodgers, P. Feel the force. Nature Phys 4 (Suppl 1), S18–S19 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys876

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