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Abstract: This paper presents an approach for improving the -factor of tuning fork probe used in scanning probe microscopes. The improvement is achieved by balancing the fork prongs with extra mass attachment. An analytical model is proposed to characterize the -factor of a tuning fork probe with respect to the attachment of extra mass on the tuning fork prongs, and based on the model, the -factors of the unbalanced and balanced tuning fork probes are derived and compared. Experimental results showed that the model fits well the experimental data and the approach can improve the -factor by more than a factor of three. The effectiveness of the approach is further demonstrated by applying the balanced probe on an atomic force microscope to obtain improved topographic images. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a near-field ellipsometry method for nano-scale thin film characterization. The method is based on a reflection configuration of near-field optical detection. In the method, a new set of ellipsometry equations is established by taking into consideration the near-field sample–probe interaction and the topography of the thin film. Experimental and simulation results have shown that the proposed near-field ellipsometry is able to attain precise thin film characterization with nano-scale lateral resolution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An imaging scheme of shear-force atomic force microscope is proposed by exploiting the second resonance regime of the tuning fork probe. Theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate that the imaging scheme can deliver better sensitivity and higher resolution of topographic imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]