Cross-talk artefacts in Kelvin probe force microscopy imaging: A comprehensive study

We provide in this article a comprehensive study of the role of ac cross-talk effects in Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM), and their consequences onto KPFM imaging. The dependence of KPFM signals upon internal parameters such as the cantilever excitation frequency and the projection angle of the KPFM feedback loop is reviewed, and compared with an analytical model. We show that ac cross-talks affect the measured KPFM signals as a function of the tip-substrate distance, and thus hamper the measurement of three-dimensional KPFM signals. The influence of ac cross-talks is also demonstrated onto KPFM images, in the form of topography footprints onto KPFM images, especially in the constant distance (lift) imaging mode. Our analysis is applied to unambiguously probe charging effects in tobacco mosaic viruses (TMVs) in ambient air. TMVs are demonstrated to be electrically neutral when deposited on silicon dioxide surfaces, but inhomogeneously negatively charged when deposited on a gold surface.