A quartz tuning fork as a force sensor for atomic force

atomic force microscopy. The resonance characteristics of the tuning fork element were determined in various degrees of vacuum, with and without the tip installed, and as a function of the tip’s proximity to the sample surface. We show that the high resonance frequency (»32kHz ) and quality factor (»30,000) of the tuning fork makes it an extremely sensitive force detector. The apparatus has also been designed with the capability of performing magnetic force microscopy on perovskite oxides.