Related papers: Force-noise spectroscopy by tunnelling current def…
Measurements of the deflection induced by thermal noise have been performed on a rectangular atomic force microscope cantilever in air. The detection method, based on polarization interferometry, can achieve a resolution of 1E-14 m/rtHz in…
Colloidal probes are often used in force microscopy when the geometry of the tip-sample interaction should be well controlled. Their calibration requires the understanding of their mechanical response, which is very sensitive to the details…
When measuring quadratic values representative of random fluctuations, such as the thermal noise of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) cantilevers, the background measurement noise cannot be averaged to zero. We present a signal processing…
The torsion pendulum is a prevailing instrument for measuring small forces acting on a solid body or those between solid bodies. While it offers powerful advantages, the measurement precision suffers from thermal noises of the suspending…
The local work function of a surface determines the spatial decay of the charge density at the Fermi level normal to the surface. Here, we present a method that enables simultaneous measurements of local work function and tip-sample forces.…
The force sensor is key to the performance of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Nowadays, most AFMs use micro-machined force sensors made from silicon, but piezoelectric quartz sensors are applied at an increasing rate, mainly in vacuum. These…
We demonstrate how the ineluctable presence of thermal noise alters the measurement of forces acting on microscopic and nanoscopic objects. We quantify this effect exemplarily for a Brownian particle near a wall subjected to gravitational…
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…
Oscillators based on levitated particles are promising for the development of ultrasensitive force detectors. The theoretical performance of levitated nanomechanical sensors is usually characterized by the so-called thermal noise limit…
Levitated optomechanics is showing potential for precise force measurements. Here, we report a case study, to show experimentally the capacity of such a force sensor. Using an electric field as a tool to detect a Coulomb force applied onto…
A force measurement technique has been developed that utilizes a clamped fiber optic element both as a cantilever and as a highly sensitive probe of the static and dynamic displacement of a sample that is mounted near its free end. Light…
We study the stationary and nonstationary measurement of a classical force driving a mechanical oscillator coupled to an electromagnetic cavity under two-tone driving. For this purpose, we develop a theoretical framework based on the…
Fluctuations of the current through a tunnel junction are measured using a Josephson junction. The current noise adds to the bias current of the Josephson junction and affects its switching out of the supercurrent branch. The experiment is…
A common use for atomic force microscopy is to quantify local forces through tip-sample interactions between the probe tip and a sample surface. The accuracy of these measurements depends on the accuracy to which the cantilever spring…
It is predicted that in force microscopy the quantum fluctuations responsible for the Casimir force can be directly observed as temperature-independent force fluctuations having spectral density $9\pi/(40\ln(4/e)) \hbar \delta k$, where…
Electrostatic force microscopy at cryogenic temperatures is used to probe the electrostatic interaction of a conductive atomic force microscopy tip and electronic charges trapped in localized states in an insulating layer on a…
The study of microsystems and the development of nanotechnologies require new techniques to measure piconewton and femtonewton forces at microscopic and nanoscopic scales. Amongst the challenges, there is the need to deal with the…
We describe a transducer for low-temperature atomic force microscopy based on electromechanical coupling due to a strain-dependent kinetic inductance of a superconducting nanowire. The force sensor is a bending triangular plate (cantilever)…
We present our first experimental determination of the magnetic noise of a superspinglass made of < 1 pico-liter frozen ferrofluid. The measurements were performed with a local magnetic field sensor based on Hall microprobes operated with…
An interferometric method is implemented in order to accurately assess the thermal fluctuations of a micro-cantilever sensor in liquid environments. The power spectrum density (PSD) of thermal fluctuations together with Sader's model of the…