Kelvin probe force microscopy of molecular surfaces

The electrostatic force microscope is one of many specialized tip sensors used in near-field microscopy. This type of microscope is realized by applying a voltage on a conducting AFM tip. It can be used to image samples that present a distribution of electrical properties on inhomogeneous materials as well as on nanostructures. This microscopy technique has been used to probe phase separation, chemical recognition, molecular orientation, and photo-induced charge separation in molecular photodiodes in Langmuir-Blodgett films.