Physical methods in nanoscale science with the atomic force microscope

The atomic force microscope (AFM) has opened up a wide gate to the nanoscopic world. Since its invention twelve years ago, it has allowed researchers to advance to new science. The extent of this advancement is strongly coupled to the sophistication of AFM instrumentation and to the methods with which AFMs are used. New AFMs and methods are needed to push the limits.; Chapter 1 and 2 introduce such new AFMs with low-noise and high-speed characteristics. The AFM presented in Chapter 2 has a focused spot size of 1.6 $m$m in diameter and is capable of using cantilevers much smaller than previously possible. Chapter 3 discusses the physics of the detection system and gives methods for improving the detection sensitivity. Thermal motion of the cantilever, usually contributing to the noise in a measurement, is a method for probing the oscillatory hydration potential at a calcite-water interface in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 establishes a method of measuring the three-dimensional electromagnetic field over a surface and comparing the data to micro-magnetic models. Biomineralization of marine abalone nacre is the subject of interdisciplinary Chapter 6, where a variety of microscopic and statistical methods distinguish between two competing models of nacre growth.