| In 1986 the atomic force microscope (AFM) was invented by Binnig, Quate, and Gerber. Cantilever based force microscopy has been used in a wide range of fields including the study of biological samples, data storage media, and microelectronics. These AFM-based imaging techniques typically measure forces in the piconewton (10−12 N) range. Recent developments in microcantilever fabrication and optical fiber displacement sensors have allowed for the construction of force microscope systems that are capable of measuring forces in the attonewton (10−18 N) range.; Applications such as magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM) require the cantilevers used to have subattonewton force resolution in order to eventually detect single nuclear spins. It is believed that improvements in cantilever and experimental design will allow for improved force resolution. A fundamental limit to the detection of small forces is thermomechanical noise. The thermal noise force limit, via the fluctuation dissipation theorem, is directly related to the amount of mechanical energy dissipation in the cantilever-based force sensor. Work has therefore been focused on developing an understanding of which mechanisms are limiting the force resolution of these microcantilever oscillators.; Arrays of silicon nitride, single-crystal silicon, and polysilicon cantilevers have been fabricated and studied. By measuring the dependence of Q on cantilever material, geometry, and surface treatments, significant insight into the dissipation mechanisms has been obtained. For submicron thick cantilevers, Q is found to decrease with decreasing cantilever thickness, indicative of surface loss mechanisms. For single-crystal silicon cantilevers, significant increase in room temperature Q is obtained after 700 C heat treatment in either N 2 or forming gas. Thermoelastic dissipation is not a factor for submicron thick cantilevers, but is shown to be significant for silicon nitride cantilevers as thin as 2.3 um. At low temperatures, 1700 Å-thick single-crystal silicon cantilevers exhibit a minimum in Q at approximately 135 K, possibly due to a surface-related relaxation process. Self-annealing cantilevers have been employed to study the low temperature dissipation in single-crystal silicon cantilevers. The dissipation peaks are believed to be caused by native oxide on the surface of the cantilevers. |
