Atomic force microscopy had and continues to have a substantial impact on nano-sciences and technologies. However, the low atomic force microscope (AFM) scanning speed continues to be a major obstacle that impedes the widespread adoption of AFM based systems. This dissertation presents solutions to this problem mainly through the selection of the AFM microcantilevers and the application of adaptive controllers. More specifically, with respect to the contact mode of operation, modeling and adaptive control of a moving base microcantilever and of a microcantilever with an integrated piezoactuator and a piezoresistive sensor are presented. With respect to the tapping mode of operation, a model of a microcantilever with an integrated piezoelectric actuator is presented, and a traditional PI controller is used to reconstruct the sample surface profile. The proposed approaches offer the potential of using high scanning speeds while providing accurate sample surface profile reconstruction.