AFM-IR Photo-induced Force Microscopy

PiF‑IR nano‑scale infrared spectroscopy

One billion times better than FTIR*

Get nano‑IR spectra to understand nanomaterials at a level unattainable with conventional FTIR techniques.

More time for science

Save your time for important work. PiF‑IR spectra are fast and easy to take with no finicky alignments or calibration standards needed.

PiF-IR vs FTIR

Nano-FTIR vs PiF-IR

Unbeatable specifications

As little as

milliseconds

per spectrum

Sub

nanometer

spatial resolution

As low as

wavenumber

spectral resolution

* FTIR is diffraction limited to a resolution of about (10,000 nm )³ = 1×10¹² nm³ while PiF‑IR has a resolution of less than (10 nm)³ = 1×10³ nm³. Therefore, PiF‑IR is at least 1×10⁹ times more precise.

AFM topography 3d rendering — PiF‑IR spectra can isolate chemical signatures at a much smaller scale than FTIR. Image is not to scale.

AFM topography 3d render — Use fixed-wavelength PiFM images to map individual chemicals.

PiFM nano‑scale chemical mapping

The most advanced mapping technique available

Create chemical absorption maps of nano-scale features in a matter of minutes. Understand material phase distributions or contaminants and defects using high-resolution nano-IR images.

Less than

nanometer

spatial resolution

As little as

minutes

for a 250px fixed-wavelength image

See the spatial resolution

The power of notching

Capture clean spectra in one shot

Avoid sample burning and get cleaner spectra with granular laser power notching for both PiFM and PiF‑IR. Create unlimited notches to maximize SNR without having to wait for averaging to drive down noise.

Graph of increased chemical signal after notching laser power — Easily notch spectral regions to get cleaner data without damaging the sample.

PiF-IR spectra compared to FTIR spectra over AFM topography — PiF‑IR spectra are comparable to FTIR spectra.

Know what you are looking at

Leverage the power of FTIR libraries at an unprecedented scale. Existing FTIR spectra can be used to identify molecular fingerprints in PiF‑IR spectra.

Understand PiF-IR Spectra

Never miss a molecule

Easily extract all possible information from a sample using our automated hyPIR™ imaging mode. This technology creates hyper-spectral images where every pixel contains a complete IR spectrum.

Learn about chemical mapping and hyPIR™

AFM topography — Get the full picture using hyPIR™ images to record spectra at every pixel.

Detect any molecule

It doesn’t matter if you want to study organics, inorganic, or both simultaneously. Get the most information with the excellent mono-layer molecular sensitivity provided by PiFM and PiF‑IR. Plus, expand the techniques into other wavelength ranges including visible light for even more varied experiments.

See our surface sensitivity

Study organics and inorganics

Understand the depth

Probe samples at different depths to get a 3D understanding of how materials are spatially related at the nano-scale.

See 3D nanoscale analysis

Two individual PiFM chemical maps layered 3d render

Deep and surface sensative PiF-IR spectra

A fast growing community

People all over the world love and use Vista series microscopes. See the research published using our tools.

Browse publications

What are Photo-induced forces?

Understand why PiFM and PiF‑IR are the most capable nano-IR techniques by learning the principles behind how they work.

Understand the scientific principles

AFM cantilever and feedback laser with PiF excitation laser

Our customer’s perspective

“We believe PiFM is poised to become a genuinely unique tool in the exploration of the phenomena derived in nanoscale systems. This new scanning probe imaging paradigm offers the distinctive prospect of detecting optically induced behavior without directly measuring the photon field created. A direct measure of induced photo-induced polarization/polarizability opens a very unique window in the study of complex materials systems. Moreover, exploiting resonance coupling of cantilever nano-mechanical modes as direct detectors of photo-mediated forces will allow phase-sensitive detection techniques to enable the sensitive observation of local optical responses with extraordinary nanoscale resolution.”