Development of a Self-Excited Oscillator for SI-Traceable Measurements in Atomic Force Microscopy

Published

August 3, 2008

Author(s)

Gregory W. Vogl, Jon R. Pratt

Abstract

A new self-excited micro-oscillator is proposed as a velocity reference that could aid the dissemination of nanonewton-level forces that are traceable to the International System of Units (SI). An analog control system is developed to keep the actuation side of the device oscillating sinusoidally with an amplitude that is fairly insensitive to the quality factor. Consequently, the device can be calibrated as a velocity reference in air and used in ultra-high vacuum with a velocity shift of less than one percent. Hence, the calibrated micro-oscillator could be used with electrostatic forces to calibrate cantilevers used for atomic force microscopy (AFM) as SI-traceable force transducers. Furthermore, the calibrated micro-oscillator could potentially be used as an AFM sensor to achieve atomic resolutions on par with those realized in frequency-modulation AFM (FM-AFM) with quartz tuning forks.

Proceedings Title

ASME 2008 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC/CIE 2008)

Conference Dates

August 3-6, 2008

Conference Location

New York City, NY

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

AFM cantilever calibration, electrostatic forces, limit cycle, magnetic actuation, magnetic sensing, micro-oscillator, SI-traceable forces, velocity reference

Citation

Vogl, G. and Pratt, J. (2008), Development of a Self-Excited Oscillator for SI-Traceable Measurements in Atomic Force Microscopy, ASME 2008 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC/CIE 2008), New York City, NY, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=824663 (Accessed October 16, 2025)