National Comparison of Spring Constant Measurements of Atomic Force Microscope Cantilevers

M. Kühnel, T. Fröhlich, R. Popadic, U. Brand

Abstract

This paper illustrates a comparison of spring constant measurements between Technische Universität Ilmenau (TU Ilmenau) and Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). For the traceable comparison, an atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever with a nominal stiffness of 40 N/m was chosen as the transfer artefact. The determined spring constants differ less than 1 %. The measurement uncertainty was = 4 % (<i>k</i> = 2) and hence conforms to the state of the art of AFM cantilever spring constant measurements. The main common uncertainty contribution of TU Ilmenau and PTB is due to the adjustment of the cantilever towards the calibration force.

Keywords

spring constant, force, deformation, cantilever, micro force sensors

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IMEKO-TC3-2017-039.pdf

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IMEKO TC

TC3 - Measurement of Force, Mass, Torque, and Gravity

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