4-Lever

AFM Cantilever Shape

Rectangular (diving board) AFM cantilevers are the most widely used as the approximate values of their spring constants and resonance frequencies can be easily calculated from their dimensions. Generally, any rectangular AFM cantilever can be produced with any required type of the AFM tip with a few exceptions.

SEM image of AFM probe with three rectangular silicon AFM cantilevers.	Schematic drawing of the AFM probe chip.

Application

The rectangular shape is the best in terms of Q-factor, regularity of the resonance curve, and ease of use. The simplicity of the geometry allows making some approximate calculations of some important parameters of the AFM cantilever like torsional and flexural force constants. These AFM probes are suitable for both contact and oscillatory AFM modes.

Each AFM cantilever is similar with respect to resonance frequency and force constant to the AFM cantilever of a very popular 1-lever product: HQ:CSC17, HQ:NSC18, HQ:NSC14 and HQ:NSC15. AFM probes with 4 different cantilevers in terms of resonance frequency and force constant allow on-the-fly selection or correction of the desired mode of operation. Measurement modes ranging from contact mode operation through force modulation and lift mode to tapping and non-contact mode are possible.

Scans and application notes