An Investigation on the Flexural Sensitivity and Resonant Frequency of an AFM With Sidewall and Top-Surface Probes

Abstract

The resonant frequencies and flexural sensitivities of an atomic force microscope (AFM) assembled cantilever probe which comprises a horizontal cantilever, a vertical extension and two tips located at the free ends of the cantilever and the extension are studied. This probe makes the AFM capable of simultaneous topography at top-surface and sidewalls of microstructures especially microgears which leads to a time-saving swift scanning process. In this work, the effects of the sample surface contact stiffness and the geometrical parameters such as the ratio of the vertical extension length to the horizontal cantilever length and the distance of the vertical extension from clamped end of the horizontal cantilever on the resonant frequencies and flexural sensitivities are assessed. These geometrical effects are illustrated in some figures. The results show that the low-order vibration modes are more sensitive for low values of the contact stiffness but the situation is reversed for high values.