AFM characterization of nanopositioner in-plane stiffnesses

A versatile method for measurement of in-plane stiffness of micro-elements was developed and its usefulness has been demonstrated. The in-plane stiffness of a NIST nanopositioner has been measured directly using a colloidal probe in an AFM without any fixture. Using this method it was possible to measure the in-plane stiffness at different locations of the same micro-element. The in-plane stiffness ratio of a microlever system was also measured and a good agreement was found between the calculated and measured values. Further, when the minimum width of flexures is 4 μm, the measured in-plane stiffnesses showed a close agreement with the calculated value.