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Optical beam deflection systems are widely used in cantilever based atomic force microscopy (AFM). Most commercial cantilevers have a reflective metal coating on the detector side to increase the reflectivity in order to achieve a high signal on the photodiode. Although the reflective coating is usually much thinner than the cantilever, it can still significantly contribute to the damping of the cantilever, leading to a lower mechanical quality factor (Q-factor). In dynamic mode operation in high vacuum, a cantilever with a high Q-factor is desired in order to achieve a lower minimal detectable force. The reflective coating can also increase the low-frequency force noise. In contact mode and force spectroscopy, a cantilever with minimal low-frequency force noise is desirable. We present a study on cantilevers with a partial reflective coating on the detector side. For this study, soft (≈0.01 N/m) and stiff (≈28 N/m) rectangular cantilevers were used with a custom partial coating at the tip end of the cantilever. The Q-factor, the detection and the force noise of fully coated, partially coated and uncoated cantilevers are compared and force distance curves are shown. Our results show an improvement in low-frequency force noise and increased Q-factor for the partially coated cantilevers compared to fully coated ones while maintaining the same reflectivity, therefore making it possible to combine the best of both worlds.

Improved atomic force microscopy cantilever performance by partial reflective coating