Noncontact Atomic Force Microscope (IMAGE) DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Caption The single-atom tip of the noncontact atomic force microscope "feels" changes in the strength of electronic forces as it moves across the surface at a constant height. Resulting movements of the stylus are detected by a laser beam to compute images. Credit Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California at Berkeley Usage Restrictions with credit as given License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.