Abstract

Atomic force microscope-based infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR) has been developed in recent years providing extremely high spatial resolution chemical characterization and imaging. The technique is based on the combination of a tunable infrared laser with an atomic force microscope that can locally map and measure thermal expansion of nanoscale regions resulting from the absorption of infrared radiation. Now, academic and industrial scientists use the AFM -IR technique in a huge range of scientific domains. In this seminar, a quick explanation of the physics involved will demonstrated why it is possible to measure the absorbance with an AFM and microbiology and polymers sciences results will be presented to demonstrate the strong potential of the technique.