Van der Pol Type Self-Excited Microcantilever and Its Application to AFM

We propose a van der Pol type self-excited micro-cantilever probe for AFM (atomic force microscope). Because the response frequency of self-excited oscillators is its natural frequency, the equivalent natural frequency depending on the atomic force is easily measured from detecting the response frequency of the self-excited micro-cantilever probe. While the amplitude of the linear self-excited oscillator grows with time, it can be kept very small by the nonlinear effect as van ver Pol oscillator. Therefore, if the micro-cantilever probe has the same dynamics as that of van Pol oscillator, the contact of the micro-cantilever to the material surface is prohibited and non-contact mode AFM is realized. In the present study, we design a van der Pol type micro-cantilever for the application to the practical AFM system.