Cantilevers fabricated by means of micromachining techniques are usually used for atomic force microscopy. In this paper, the spring constant of an atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever is determined by using a large-scale cantilever. Since the spring constant of the large-scale cantilever is calibrated accurately, the spring constant of the AFM cantilever is determined precisely by measuring the deflections of both cantilevers simultaneously using heterodyne interferometry. The slope of the force curve gives the spring constant of the AFM cantilever. It is not necessary to measure the dimensions of the AFM cantilever in the proposed method. Although this method is simple, the spring constant of the AFM cantilever is obtained accurately.
A scanning force microscope technique is described to study the relation between topography and the local adhesion. The drift has been a main problem in investigating this relation since a long period is required to measure force curves over the scan area. To circumvent this problem, we propose a methodology to detect the topography and the adhesion from force curves simultaneously. Since this information is obtained from the same force curve, the distribution of the tip position corresponds precisely to that of the adhesion. The detailed relation between the tip position and the adhesion is measured on a fine lithographic grating.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.