Trilayer probe catalogue

Trilayer self-sensing cantilevers

The Trilayer self-sensing cantilevers are composed of an elastic soft polymer core enveloped by two hard thin film layers. This patented new cantilever concept provides striking advantages compared to standard Si or SiN self-sensing cantilevers:

• The force sensitivity of the Trilayer is up to 10 times higher than that for silicon cantilevers. Imaging speeds can be up to 10 times faster with excellent resolution — due to the intrinsic damping of the polymer core, the quality factor remains manageable even in vacuum where fluid or air damping is absent.
• The Trilayer design is inherently suited for measurements in fluids, even in opaque, electrically conductive or harsh chemical environments. All sensing elements and electrical connections are hermetically sealed.
• The piezoresistive readout is located on the sample-averted side of the cantilever. This minimizes thermal or resistive coupling to the tip and sample and is an enabler for low-temperature applications.

We offer Trilayer self-sensing cantilevers with a variety of resonant frequencies and stiffnesses, and either with a silicon tip or tipless. For KPFM, EFM, c-AFM and other conductive applications, Trilayer self-sensing cantilevers are supplied with a conductive coating. For applications in cryogenic quantum research — featuring a triangular design with integrated platinum traces — for stable, high-precision probing of quantum coherence, tunneling, and spin dynamics at low temperatures.