The applicability of the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was examined for nuclear forensic purposes. The hyper-stoichiometric form of uranium-oxide was identified as novel signature which indicates the production technology of uranium fuel pellets. The AFM technique was compared with Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) that is usually used for morphological study in nuclear forensics. AFM has some unique features comparing with SEM and as a fast and less expensive technique, it can be a good alternative solution or a supporting technique to the SEM.
Graphical abstract