Related papers: Accurate distance control between a probe and a su…
When a micro cantilever with a nano-scale tip is manipulated on a substrate with atomic-scale roughness, the periodic lateral frictional force and stochastic fluctuations may induce stick-slip motion of the cantilever tip, which greatly…
Motion of cantilever near sample surfaces exhibits additional friction even before two bodies come into mechanical contact. Called non-contact friction (NCF), this friction is of great practical importance to the ultrasensitive force…
Aligning a microcantilever to an area of interest on a sample is a critical step in many scanning probe microscopy experiments, particularly those carried out on devices and rare, precious samples. We report a series of protocols that…
Mechanical properties of biological samples have been imaged with a \textit{Force Feedback Microscope}. Force, force gradient and dissipation are measured simultaneously and quantitatively, merely knowing the AFM cantilever spring constant.…
We find that the jump-into-contact of the cantilever in the atomic force microscope (AFM) is caused by an inherent instability in the motion of the AFM cantilever. The analysis is based on a simple model of the cantilever moving in a…
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool to investigate interaction forces at the micro and nanoscale. Cantilever stiffness, dimensions and geometry of the tip can be chosen according to the requirements of the specific application,…
In this article, we measure the viscous damping $G'',$ and the associated stiffness $G',$ of a liquid flow in sphere-plane geometry in a large frequency range. In this regime, the lubrication approximation is expected to dominate. We first…
We present a detailed modeling and characterization of our scalable microwave nanoprobe, which is a micro-fabricated cantilever-based scanning microwave probe with separated excitation and sensing electrodes. Using finite-element analysis,…
The force between two interacting particles as a function of distance is one of the most fundamental curves in science. In this regard, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) represents the most powerful tool in nanoscience but with severe limits…
In this article, we present a deflection measurement setup for Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). It is based on a quadrature phase differential interferometer: we measure the optical path difference between a laser beam reflecting above the…
The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a versatile, high-resolution tool used to characterize the topography and material properties of a large variety of specimens at nano-scale. The interaction of the micro-cantilever tip with the specimen…
In this paper, we study the behaviour of a microcantilever beam under electrostatic actuation using finite difference method. This problem has a lot of applications in MEMS based devices like accelerometers, switches and others. In this…
We describe the design and construction of a new apparatus for detecting or constraining deviations from Newtonian gravity at short length scales. The apparatus consists of a new type of probe with rotary mass actuation and cantilever-based…
It was shown recently that the Force Feedback Microscope can avoid the jump-to-contact in Atomic force Microscopy even when the cantilevers used are very soft, thus increasing force resolution. In this letter, we explore theoretical aspects…
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) conventional static force curves and Force Feedback Microscopy (FFM) force curves acquired with the same cantilever at the solid/air and solid/liquid interfaces are here compared. The capability of the FFM to…
The Transient Fluctuation Theorem is used to calibrate an Atomic Force Microscope by measuring the fluctuations of the work performed by a time dependent force applied between a collo{\"i}dal probe and the surface. From this measure one can…
A method to measure the viscosity of liquids at microscales is presented. It uses a thin glass fiber fixed on the tip of the cantilever of an extremely low noise Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), which accurately measures the cantilever…
Experimental methods and procedures required for precision measurements of the Casimir force are presented. In particular, the best practices for obtaining stable cantilevers, calibration of the cantilever, correction of thermal and…
We describe a method for feedback-regulation of a microcantilever's response using optical radiation pressure. One laser measures the position of the cantilever and another laser applies a force that is a phase-shifted function of that…
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) methods utilizing resonant mechanical vibrations of cantilevers in contact with a sample surface have shown sensitivities as high as few picometers for detecting surface displacements. Such a high sensitivity…