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Adventures in attonewton force detection

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Abstract.

We report detection of forces as small as 1.4 × 10-18 N in a 1 Hz bandwidth using ultrathin silicon cantilevers operating at liquid helium temperatures. Cantilever fabrication, the importance of surface cleanliness and various measurement issues are discussed. Tip–surface interactions are described, including the detection of single electron trapping–untrapping events. Applications of attonewton force detection for single spin magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM) and ultrasensitive magnetometry are discussed.

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Received: 29 September 2000 / Accepted: 14 December 2000 / Published online: 27 March 2001

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Rugar, D., Stipe, B., Mamin, H. et al. Adventures in attonewton force detection . Appl Phys A 72 (Suppl 1), S3–S10 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003390100729

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s003390100729

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