Knowledge of the interaction forces between surfaces gained using an atomic force microscope (AFM) is crucial in a variety of industrial and scientific applications and necessitates a precise knowledge of the cantilever spring constant. Many methods have been devised to experimentally determine the spring constants of AFM cantilevers. The thermal fluctuation method is elegant but requires a the...

The performance of atomic force microscopy cantilevers, as measured by the resonant frequency and spring constant, is directly dependent on the shape of the cantilever. Here we have improved the performance of conventional silicon nitride cantilevers by using focused ion beam milling to minimize the width of the cantilever legs. The resonant frequency in solution for any given spring constant i...

The elastic response, including the spring constant, of individual Si helical-shape submicron springs, was measured using a tip-cantilever assembly attached to a conventional atomic force microscope. The isolated, four-turn Si springs were fabricated using oblique angle deposition with substrate rotation, also known as the glancing angle deposition, on a templated Si substrate. The response of ...

The square and kagome lattices with nearest-neighbor springs of spring constant k are isostatic with a number of zero-frequency modes that scale with their perimeter. We analytically study the approach to this isostatic limit as the spring constant k' for next-nearest-neighbor bonds vanishes. We identify a characteristic frequency omega* approximately square root of k' and length l* approximate...

In this paper we describe a procedure for parameters identification using an algebraic identification method for a continuous time constant linear system. We make a specific application in the determination of the parameters mass-spring-damper system. The method is suitable for simultaneously identifying, both, the spring constant and the damping coefficient. It is found that the proposed metho...

Variations in the mechanical properties of nominally identical V-shaped atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilevers sourced from the same silicon nitride wafer have been quantified by measuring the spring constants, resonant frequencies and quality factors of 101 specimens as received from the manufacturer using the thermal spectrum method of Hutter and Bechhoefer. The addition of thin gold coati...

qPlus sensors are widely used to measure forces at the atomic scale, however, confidence in these measurements is limited by inconsistent reports of the spring constant of the sensor and complications from finite tip heights. Here we combine a numerical investigation of the force reconstruction with an experimental characterization of the flexural mechanics of the qPlus sensor. Numerical studie...

The Wilberforce pendulum provides an important qualitative demonstration of coupled harmonic oscillators, but quantitative measurements are not typically performed. The present work examines the dynamics of a simple pendulum comprising a steel spring with attached mass using an ultrasonic motion detector. A series of measurements allowed determination of the coupling constant between the longit...