Precise quantification of forces and charges at the atomic scale by non-contact atomic force and charge force microscopy

In this thesis, four major results novel to the field of NC-AFM, are introduced. First, the force curve alignment (FCA) method, a procedure facilitating the accurate and precise measurement of force curves, free from experimental artefacts and systematic error. Second, the established quantitative AFM theory exclusively considering a tip sampling path parallel to the data recording path is expanded, to describe an arbitrary tip oscillation direction with respect to the data recording path. Third, the theoretical foundation for charge force microscopy (CFM), a method for quantitatively retrieving charges from distant dependent Kelvin probe force microscopy data, is developed. Fourth, the FCA method and CFM in combination are employed experimentally on a cerium dioxide supported gold nanoparticle facilitating the quantification of its static charge state