Relationship between charge distribution and its image by electrostatic force microscopy

We shall demonstrate in this article that characterization of the charge distribution by electrostatic force microscopy is not straightforward: we will stress the important role played by the electrostatic images of the scanned charge distribution in the tip and by the operating mode in the formation of extra features in images obtained with this instrument. To illustrate this, we will describe two models that correspond to the scanning of small and extended charge distributions. These models will be compared with experimental images.