A novel electrostatically actuated AFM probe for vibroflexural mode operation

A successful approach to drastically reduce or even completely eliminate friction and wear in scanning force microscopy is the use of electrostatic modulation of the normal force acting on the tip-sample contact. In this paper we have devised, fabricated and experimentally characterized a novel electrostatically actuated AFM probe. The probe consists of a flexible cantilever that has an electrostatic circular plate actuator with a built-in sharp tip monolithically integrated at its free end. This unique probe configuration will allow for the vibro-flexural mode operation in which vibration of the tip relative to the cantilever is generated and controlled by the integrated plate actuator, while the tip-sample interaction is resolved by deflection of the cantilever. We envision that this new operation mode will result in an efficient electrostatic force modulation, which in the end will enable us to control friction and wear during AFM imaging.