Encased Cantilevers

  • High Q-factor in liquids

  • High resonance frequency in liquids

  • Quantitative and gentle measurements

  • Autotune to a single resonance peak

  • Compatible with all instruments

  • Low thermal drift

Enhanced SPM Methods

  • Reliable High Resolution Imaging
  • Non-invasive In-situ Observations
  • Low-noise Force Spectroscopy and Mapping
  • Quantitative Tip-sample Interactions
  • High-speed Imaging
Applications Overview

How it Works

Encased cantilevers improve performance for imaging and force spectroscopy in liquid.

Cantilevers typically suffer from high viscous damping and added mass due to the surrounding liquid. We build a hollow, transparent, and hydrophobic encasement around the probe that prevents liquid from entering. The cantilever stays dry when submersed in water except for a few microns of the probe’s sharp tip that protrudes from the encasement to interact with your delicate sample. Operating the instrument becomes straightforward with lower drift and the ability to autotune a single high-Q resonance peak, as if you were operating in air.

Watch a video of how the encased cantilever works.

Applications of encased cantilevers for ultrasensitive force microscopy include visualization of local hydration layers at the surface of mica, or gentle imaging of DNA origami. Beyond imaging, encased cantilevers enable quantitative mass sensing in liquids with potential mass resolution in the few zeptograms. 

Patent No. 9,229,028