Steep resonance of parametrically excited active MEMS cantilevers for dynamic mode in Atomic Force Microscopy

Ongoing developments in nanotechnology demand higher spatial resolution and thus, higher amplitude sensitivity in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). In this work, active cantilevers with integrated sensor and actuator systems are parametrically excited using a novel, analog feedback circuit. With that it is possible to adapt the strength and sign of a cubic nonlinearity which provides a bound to the amplitudes in resonance operation . The system response shows steeper resonance curves and therefore higher amplitude sensitivities compared to forced excited cantilevers. Theoretical findings are validated experimentally.