AFM is short for Atomic Force Microscopy, which is a type of scanning probe microscopy used to gather surface topography data at a nanoscale level. There are several other synonyms for AFM that we can use to describe the same technology, such as Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), which is a more general term that encompasses various techniques including AFM, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM).
Another synonym is Nanoscale Metrology, which refers to the precise measurement of objects at the nanoscale level. This includes various microscopes and measurement tools, including AFM. Other synonyms include Nanoscale Imaging and Nanoscale characterization, which encompass the process of analyzing materials, structures, and surfaces at the nanoscale level using instruments such as AFM.