Photothermally excited force modulation microscopy for broadband nanomechanical property measurements.

We demonstrate photothermally excited force modulation microscopy (PTE FMM) for mechanical property characterization across a broad frequency range with an atomic force microscope (AFM). Photothermal excitation allows for an AFM cantilever driving force that varies smoothly as a function of drive frequency, thus avoiding the problem of spurious resonant vibrations that hinder piezoelectric excitation schemes. A complication of PTE FMM is that the sub-resonance cantilever vibration shape is fundamentally different compared to piezoelectric excitation. By directly measuring the vibrational shape of the cantilever, we show that PTE FMM is an accurate nanomechanical characterization method. PTE FMM is a pathway towards the characterization of frequency sensitive specimens such as polymers and biomaterials with frequency range limited only by the resonance frequency of the cantilever and the low frequency limit of the AFM.