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New Probes Are Being Developed in Many Countries, AFM Probes May be Replaced due to Limited Application Scope

Atomic force microscope (AFM) is an important instrument for the analysis of surface topography and electromagnetic properties with atomic resolution. The first atomic force microscope was developed in 1985. Its modes can be divided into contact mode and tap mode. 

Common AFM probes include diamond probe, silicon nitride probe, silicon probe and other kinds of probes (such as conductive probe, magnetic probe, biological probe, etc.).

Atomic force microscope (AFM) is a new type of high-resolution atomic surface analysis instrument, which can observe the surface phenomena of conductor and semiconductor materials just like scanning tunneling microscope (STM). Therefore, AFM can be used to study the surface reconstruction of semiconductors and electrons, surface morphology, surface electronic states and dynamics, surface structure of superconductors and charge density of electronic-state layered materials.  Secondly, atomic force microscopy has become one of the core tools for detecting the structure, properties and functions of micro/nano materials in the application of basic science and technology, and has broad application prospects.

In addition, with the development of science and technology, life science and biology began to develop toward quantitative science. The focus of most experiments has been on the relationship between biological macromolecules, especially nucleic acids and proteins, in terms of structure and related functions. Therefore, atomic force microscope has become one of the important tools for studying biomedical samples. The application of AFM in life science and biology mainly includes three aspects: observing the surface morphology of biological cells, observing the structure and other properties of biological macromolecules, and observing the force spectrum curve between biological molecules. 

North America is the largest market by revenue for the AFM industry. Its market share in the industry was 35.02% in 2020, but its market share is expected to decline over the forecast period to 34.38% by 2026. Asia-Pacific and Europe ranked second and third with 29.86% and 27.24% market share respectively, while South America, the Middle East and Africa had a low market share of 3.33% and 4.55%. In addition, the data indicate that the Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the fastest-growing market in the industry. The market share of this region has been increasing year by year since 2015 and is expected to reach 30.92% by 2026. The Asia-Pacific region contains China, Japan and other economies. In recent years, with the continuous development of economy and technology in these countries, GDP has reached a high level, which also provides the foundation and support for the development of the industry. 

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The top 3 companies are Bruker from the US, Asylum Research (Oxford Instruments) and NT-MDT from Russia. Bruker designs, develops and sells proprietary life science systems based on spectroscopic technology platforms, markets a range of field analysis systems for substance detection and pathogen identification, and develops life science and advanced materials research tools based on X-ray technology. Founded in 1999, Asylum Research is an employee-owned company based in Santa Barbara, California, with offices around the world, in the UK, Germany and Taiwan. Its product line of scanning probe/atomic force microscopes sets the industry standard for technological innovations in imaging and characterization of nanoscale surfaces and structures. Its AFM/SPM is widely used in materials and biological sciences by academic and industrial customers around the world. NT-MDT has been involved in the development, production and support of research instruments, primarily atomic Force microscopy (AFM) and its combination with ultra-high-resolution spectroscopy, for nanotechnology and its applications. In 2020, the market share of these three companies in the global AFM probe industry was 40.87%, 18.61% and 10.90%. As the top three companies account for more than 70% of the global market, the industry is highly concentrated. 

Development Trend of Global Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) Probe Industry in the Future 

As AFM probe is only used in atomic force microscope, it belongs to the consumable material of high-tech instrument, so it is not widely used in the world. In terms of production, there are nearly a dozen factories worldwide developing and producing various AFM probes, and the market is basically saturated. The main manufacturers are located in Germany, Switzerland, Bulgaria, USA, Russia, Japan, Israel, Italy and Korea, etc. Due to the short lifetime, low resolution, instability and poor consistency of probes, many countries are developing new probes. 

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