Spring constant of a tuning-fork sensor for dynamic force microscopy

Abstract

We present an overview of experimental and numerical methods to determine the spring constant of a quartz tuning fork in qPlus configuration. The simple calculation for a rectangular cantilever is compared to the values obtained by the analysis of the thermal excitation and by the direct mechanical measurement of the force versus displacement. To elucidate the difference, numerical simulations were performed taking account of the real geometry including the glue that is used to mount the tuning fork.

Keywords

• atomic force microscopy
• finite element method
• spring constant
• thermal fluctuation
• tuning fork