AFM-IR (atomic force microscope-infrared spectroscopy) or infrared nanospectroscopy is one of a family of techniques that are derived from a combination of two parent instrumental techniques. AFM-IR combines the chemical analysis power of infrared spectroscopy and the high-spatial resolution of scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The term was first used to denote a method that combined a tuneable free electron laser with an atomic force microscope (AFM, a type of SPM) equipped with a sharp probe that measured the local absorption of infrared light by a sample with nanoscale spatial resolution.