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PUBLICATIONS

Small mass measurements for tuning fork-based force microscope cantilever spring constant calibration

Published

Author(s)

Gordon A. Shaw, Jon R. Pratt, Zeina J. Kubarych

Abstract

Cutting edge mass sensors are capable of discriminating mass changes as small as several dozens of atoms, however the smallest mass commercially available from NIST with a calibration traceable to the International System of Units (SI) is 0.5 mg. To bridge this gap, new metrological techniques are being developed. A mass change from the electrochemical dissolution of tungsten wire has been measured using a commercial microbalance, and applied to a dynamic calibration of the spring constant of a tuning fork oscillator designed for use in frequency modulated atomic force microscopy (FMAFM). The spring constant measured using the dynamic method agreed within experimental uncertainty with that determined using an instrumented indenter, however an improved model for the indenter s contact mechanics will be necessary to validate the assumptions used in the dynamic method to less than 10 %.
Proceedings Title
Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics, 2010
Conference Dates
June 7-10, 2010
Conference Location
Indianapolis, IN
Pub Type
Conferences

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Keywords

scanning probe microscope, tuning fork, small mass, nanotechnology, metrology, spring constant, cantilever, indentation
Force metrology and Mass metrology

Citation

Shaw, G. , Pratt, J. and Kubarych, Z. (2010), Small mass measurements for tuning fork-based force microscope cantilever spring constant calibration, Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics, 2010, Indianapolis, IN, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=905829 (Accessed October 20, 2025)

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Created June 7, 2010, Updated February 19, 2017
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