Important dates:

  • The scientific sessions of nc-AFM 2011 will run from Monday 19th to Thursday 22th, September, 2011.
  • The satellite symposium on Quantitative Nanoscale AFM Measurements in Life Science will be on Sunday 18th and Monday Morning 19th.
  • Registration for the conference and abstract submission is possible through the web site of the nc-AFM 2011.
  • Deadline for abstract submission was extended until Sunday, June 26th, 2011.
  • Notification of acceptance, till July 11th, 2011.
  • Deadline for early bird registration is Sunday, July 31th, 2011.
  • Deadline for proceedings is November 22nd, 2011.

Scope

Non-Contact Atomic Force Microscopy (nc-AFM) is a dynamic scanning force microscopy technique that has fulfilled the long-standing goal of true atomic resolution imaging and nanoscale manipulation on all kind of surfaces. It is an offspring of the atomic force microscope (AFM) invented by Binnig, Quate and Gerber in 1986 (PRL 56, p.930), so this year exactly 25 years ago. Nowadays the technique is widely spread in the scientific community especially in physics, nanosciences and biology and enables the detailed analysis of material properties like structure, elasticity, friction and force fields down to the atomic and molecular scale.

The nc-AFM 2011 continues a series of international conferences dedicated to research at the frontiers of science and technology of nc-AFM and spectroscopy. The conference covers experimental, theoretical, and instrumental contributions on frequency modulation and other dynamic and static operation modes with particular emphasis on high resolution imaging and force spectroscopy for a broad range of applications in nanosciences. Former conferences where held in Kanazawa, Japan (2010); New Haven, USA (2009); Madrid, Spain (2008); Antalya, Turkey (2007); Kobe, Japan (2006); Bad Essen, Germany (2005); Seattle, USA (2004); Dingle, Ireland (2003); Montreal, Canada (2002); Kyoto, Japan (2001); Hamburg, Germany (2000); Pontresina, Switzerland (1999); and Osaka, Japan (1998).

The conference will be held in Lindau at Lake Constance located in the tri-border region between Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It can be reached easily by train from various international airports Zurich, Munich and Frankfurt. The conference will be accompanied by a satellite symposium dedicated to Quantitative Nanoscale AFM Measurements in Life Science (organized by Prof. Georg E. Fantner, Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL Lausanne, Switzerland).

There is the option to submit proceedings contributions to a special issue of the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology. This special nc-AFM issue will be edited by Udo. D. Schwarz (Yale University).

The conference welcomes contributions for oral and poster presentation dealing with one or more of the following topics:

  1. Novel Instrumentation and techniques in AFM.
  2. Atomic resolution imaging on insulating substrates, semiconductors, and metals
  3. Atomic resolution imaging on molecular systems
  4. High-resolution imaging of clusters, biomolecules, and biological systems
  5. Atomic- and molecular-scale manipulation
  6. Combined force and tunneling spectroscopy
  7. High-resolution imaging and spectroscopy in liquid environments
  8. Theoretical analysis of contrast mechanisms; forces & tunnelling phenomena
  9. Measuring tip-sample interaction potentials and mapping 2D and 3D force fields
  10. Small amplitude and lateral force measurements using dynamic methods
  11. Mechanisms for damping and energy dissipation
  12. Measuring nanoscale charges, work function, and magnetic properties
  13. Simulation of images and virtual SPM systems
  14. Tapping mode versus non-contact mode imaging