Dynamic calibration of higher eigenmode parameters of a cantilever in atomic force microscopy by using tip-surface interactions

Stanislav S Borysov; Daniel Forchheimer; David B Haviland

doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.200

Dynamic calibration of higher eigenmode parameters of a cantilever in atomic force microscopy by using tip-surface interactions

Beilstein J Nanotechnol. 2014 Oct 29:5:1899-904. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.5.200. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Stanislav S Borysov¹, Daniel Forchheimer², David B Haviland²

Affiliations

¹ Nanostructure Physics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Roslagstullsbacken 21, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden ; Nordita, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden ; Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
² Nanostructure Physics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Roslagstullsbacken 21, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.

Abstract

We present a theoretical framework for the dynamic calibration of the higher eigenmode parameters (stiffness and optical lever inverse responsivity) of a cantilever. The method is based on the tip-surface force reconstruction technique and does not require any prior knowledge of the eigenmode shape or the particular form of the tip-surface interaction. The calibration method proposed requires a single-point force measurement by using a multimodal drive and its accuracy is independent of the unknown physical amplitude of a higher eigenmode.

Keywords: atomic force microscopy; calibration; multifrequency AFM; multimodal AFM.