  Using electrostatic coupling between an AFM tip and a metallic surface as a
test interaction, we here present the measurement of the force between the tip
and the surface, together with the measurement of the interaction stiffness and
the associated dissipation. These three quantities constitute a full
characterization of the interaction at nanoscale. They are measured
independently, simultaneously and quantitatively at the same place. This is
made possible thanks to a force feedback method that ensures the DC immobility
of the tip and to the simultaneous application of a sub-nanometer oscillation
to the tip. In this established linear regime, stiffness and damping are
directly obtained from amplitude and phase change measurements. The needed
information for this linear transformation is solely the lever properties in
the experimental context. Knowledge of k, its stiffness, its damping
coefficient and Q0, its first resonance frequency is shown to be sufficient in
the frequency range we are here exploring. Finally, we demonstrate that this
method is not restricted to the lever resonance frequency. To the contrary,
this interaction characterization whose resolution is limited by the Brownian
motion, can be used at any frequencies with essentially the same performances.
We believe that simultaneous and independent measurements of force, stiffness
and damping, out of lever resonance, at nanoscale, and within the context of
linear response define a new AFM paradigm that we call Force Feedback
Microscopy (FFM). This article details the use of FFM using a well known and
easy to implement electrostatic interaction between a regular AFM tip and a
metallic surface in air.
