The contact mode high-speed atomic force microscope (AFM) operates orders of magnitude faster than conventional AFMs. It is capable of capturing multiple frames per second with nanometre-scale lateral resolution and subatomic height resolution. This advancement in imaging rate allows for microscale analysis across macroscale surfaces, making it suitable for applications across materials science. However, the quality of the surface analysis obtained by high-speed AFM is highly dependent upon the standard of sample preparation and the resultant final surface finish. In this study, different surface preparation techniques that are commonly implemented within metallurgical studies are compared for samples of SAF 2205 duplex stainless steel. It was found that, while acid etching and electrolytic etching were optimal for the low resolution of optical microscopy, these methods were less suited for analysis by high resolution high-speed AFM. Mechanical and colloidal silica polishing was found to be the optimal method explored, as it provided a gentle etch of the surface allowing for high quality topographic maps of the sample surface.

接触式高速原子力显微镜 (AFM) 的运行速度比传统 AFM 快几个数量级。它能够以纳米级横向分辨率和亚原子高度分辨率每秒捕获多个帧。成像速率的这种进步允许跨宏观表面进行微观分析，使其适用于跨材料科学的应用。然而，通过高速 AFM 获得的表面分析的质量在很大程度上取决于样品制备的标准和最终的表面光洁度。在本研究中，针对 SAF 2205 双相不锈钢样品比较了冶金研究中常用的不同表面处理技术。结果发现，虽然酸蚀刻和电解蚀刻最适合光学显微镜的低分辨率，但这些方法不太适合高分辨率高速 AFM 分析。机械和胶体二氧化硅抛光被发现是探索的最佳方法，因为它提供了表面的温和蚀刻，允许样品表面的高质量地形图。