Over the past ten years or so the need for the measurement of low forces ranging from newtons down to attonewtons has become increasingly important. As we begin to manufacture and manipulate structures on the micrometre to nanometre scale, the forces that are exerted in such processes must be controlled. To control such forces requires some form of measurement, either a direct measurement of th...

We present the instrumentation and measurement scheme of a new Casimir force probe that bridges Casimir force measurements at microscale and macroscale. A metallized high Q silicon nitride nanomembrane resonator is employed as a sensitive force probe. The high tensile stress present in the nanomembrane not only enhances the quality factor but also maintains high flatness over large area serving...

A new stiffness measurement method is proposed that utilizes the lateral deformation profile of an object under indentation. The system consists of a force measurement module between a pair of equidistant touch sensing modules. Unique feature of the method is that by adjusting the touch module separation, indenter protrusion, and spring constant of the force sensing module, one can choose a des...