Materials for undergraduate and graduate courses on Atomic Force Microscopy:
1. Instructions for six two-hour lab sessions with Nanosurf's NaioAFM
2. Computer programs and instructions for eight one-hour computer labs
3. Instructions for six short exercises with a macroscopic cantilever
4. In-class writing exercises for improved scientific communication
Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are instruments that allow three-dimensional imaging of surfaces with nanometer resolution. Also used to determine chemical and mechanical properties of surfaces, they and their cousins, collectively called scanning probe microscopes, are the principal enabling technologies in the fields of nanoscience and engineering. Nanoscience and engineering encompass many different disciplines, e.g. physics, chemistry, materials science, electrical engineering, and biology. Their common thread is the mutual focus on understanding, designing, and controlling processes and devices at the nanoscale. AFMs are currently being sold over a wide price range, the lower end of which is now compatible with intermediate physics laboratory courses (< $30k). In this workshop, one of these inexpensive instruments and the associated instructional materials will be demonstrated and the workshop leader will describe her experience in teaching undergraduate and graduate students AFM (since 2001). While the complete set of teaching materials is ideal for semester-long courses, portions of them could be used as modules in other classes. The instrument is easily transportable, which leads naturally to summer outreach programs.

Partial support was provided by NSF NUE Award #0406687