| 摘要 |
In surface force apparatus and in atomic force microscopes, a free surface and an atomically sharp tip, respectively, are mounted on a cantilevered weak spring within the instrument. The present invention provides a substitute for the weak spring, in the form of a piezoelectric bimorph (10) comprising two elongate slabs of piezoelectric material, held in intimate contact at one end by a clamp (12). The bimorph is also clamped at a second location by a second clamp (14), preferably slideable on the bimorph. The second clamp is adapted to carry a supporting adaptor (15) for a free surface (20) or an atomically sharp tip. Measurement of charge developed on the bimorph due to its flexure under an applied force enables the value of the applied force to be calculated. |
