Photoconductive atomic force microscopy

Photoconductive atomic force microscopy is like magic! Imagine you have a super special camera that can not only take pictures of really tiny things, but also can see if those tiny things can conduct electricity! Like when your light bulb turns on and electricity flows through the wire to make it bright. That's what we call electricity conductivity.

Now, imagine you have a very, very tiny electrical wire that's even smaller than a hair strand. This tiny wire can also conduct electricity, but it needs a little help from something called light. When you shine light on this tiny wire, it gets excited and starts conducting electricity even better.

That's where the magic of the photoconductive atomic force microscope comes in. It's a special camera that shines light on that super tiny wire, and then it takes a picture of it with its super tiny tip. The tip is so small that it can see individual atoms on the wire!

So, not only can this camera take a picture of what the wire looks like, but it can also see if the wire can conduct electricity better when it gets hit with light. This helps scientists figure out how to make better and more efficient electrical devices, like solar panels that use light to create electricity.