A phase-locked shear-force microscope for distance regulation in near-field optical microscopy

Abstract

A nonoptical phase-locked shear-force microscope utilizing a quartz crystal tuning fork acting as a voltage-controlled oscillator in a phase-locked loop has been implemented. A tapered optical fiber is rigidly mounted on one of the prongs of the fork to serve as both a shear-force pickup and a near-field optical probe. The crystal is driven at its resonance frequency through positive feedback of the monitored current through the crystal. This signal is used as the voltage-controlled oscillator in a phase-locked loop. The scheme allows for scan speeds far beyond the Q-limited amplitude sensor bandwidth and exhibits excellent sensitivity for a high-Q resonator. Furthermore, given the small vibration amplitude of the tip (<0.5 nm) and the distance over which it is reduced (> 6 nm), it is unlikely that the tip is making direct contact with the sample surface as has been suggested for the optical shear-force detection scheme.