The performance of carbon nanotube-carbon nanotube composite (CNT/CNT composite) atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes aligned by using ion flux molding (IFM) processing is compared to that of conventional Si probes in atomic force microscopy (tapping mode). Comparison data reveal that IFM treated CNT/CNT composite probes improve image accuracy, tip longevity and allow higher aspect ratio imaging of 3D surface features.