Design and Evaluation of Torsional Probes for Multifrequency Atomic Force Microscopy

Sriramshankar, R and Jayanth, GR (2015) Design and Evaluation of Torsional Probes for Multifrequency Atomic Force Microscopy. In: IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS, 20 (4). pp. 1843-1853.

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Abstract

Multifrequency atomic force microscopy is a powerful nanoscale imaging and characterization technique that involves excitation of the atomic force microscope (AFM) probe and measurement of its response at multiple frequencies. This paper reports the design, fabrication, and evaluation of AFM probes with a specified set of torsional eigen-frequencies that facilitate enhancement of sensitivity in multifrequency AFM. A general approach is proposed to design the probes, which includes the design of their generic geometry, adoption of a simple lumped-parameter model, guidelines for determination of the initial dimensions, and an iterative scheme to obtain a probe with the specified eigen-frequencies. The proposed approach is employed to design a harmonic probe wherein the second and the third eigen-frequencies are the corresponding harmonics of the first eigen-frequency. The probe is subsequently fabricated and evaluated. The experimentally evaluated eigen-frequencies and associated mode shapes are shown to closely match the theoretical results. Finally, a simulation study is performed to demonstrate significant improvements in sensitivity to the second-and the third-harmonic spectral components of the tip-sample interaction force with the harmonic probe compared to that of a conventional probe.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS
Publisher:	IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC, 445 HOES LANE, PISCATAWAY, NJ 08855-4141 USA
Keywords:	Design of torsional microprobes; dynamic force spectroscopy; multifrequency atomic force microscopy
Department/Centre:	Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Instrumentation Appiled Physics
Date Deposited:	11 Sep 2015 04:54
Last Modified:	11 Sep 2015 04:54
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/52332

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