Calibration of atomic-force microscope tips

1993/07/01 by Jeffrey L. Hutter, John Bechhoefer · 4,199 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic force acoustic microscopy #Atomic force microscopy #Calibration #Cantilever #Chemical force microscopy #Composite material #Computer science #Conductive atomic force microscopy #Curvature #Electrostatic force microscope #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Force spectroscopy #Magnetic force microscope #Materials science #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Microscope #Nanotechnology #Near-Field Optical Microscopy #Non-contact atomic force microscopy #Optics #Physics #RADIUS #Radius of curvature #Spring (device) #Thermodynamics

paper · doi:10.1063/1.1143970

published in Review of Scientific Instruments 64(7), 1868-1873 (American Institute of Physics)

openalex publication_date 1993/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Images and force measurements taken by an atomic-force microscope (AFM) depend greatly on the properties of the spring and tip used to probe the sample’s surface. In this article, we describe a simple, nondestructive procedure for measuring the force constant, resonant frequency, and quality factor of an AFM cantilever spring and the effective radius of curvature of an AFM tip. Our procedure uses the AFM itself and does not require additional equipment.

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