Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

In this paper we describe a setup for the resonance frequency measurement of nanocantilevers, which displays both high spatial selectivity and sensitivity to specimen vibrations by utilizing a tapered uncoated fiber tip. The spatial selectivity is determined by the tip geometry, the high sensitivity to vibrations stems from interference of wave fronts reflected on the specimen and on the fiber tip itself. No reference plane on the specimen is needed, as demonstrated with the example of a freestanding silicon nitride cantilever. The resulting system is integrated in the DB-235 dual beam FIB system, thus allowing the measurement of sample responses in-situ, during observation in SEM mode. By combining optical interferometry and narrow band RF amplification and detection, we demonstrate an exceptional vibrational sensitivity at high spatial resolution.