Forty years after its invention, atomic force microscopy has evolved from a simple surface imaging tool into one of the most versatile measurement platforms in nanoscience. This Comment traces the key innovations.
Alsteens, D., Meyer, E., Müller, D. J., & Gerber, C. (2026). Atomic force microscopy from nanoscale imaging to holistic exploration. Nature Reviews Physics. Accepted/in-press. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-026-00956-3 (Original work published 2026)