Statistical procedure for comparison of potential difference between single-component sample surface.

Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is a valuable technique for visualizing local surface potential with high spatial resolution, although it is incapable of providing the absolute value of the surface potential owing to the unknown condition of the tip, which serves as a potential reference. Owing to these uncontrollable variations in the tip properties, KPFM is of limited utility for comparing the surface potential between different single-component sample surfaces. This paper describes a statistical method for analyzing the variation of the contact potential difference during KPFM measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]