Abstract
Self-excitating technique is known as an effective excitation method for AFM probe to measure the surface of a biological sample in a liquid environment. In this research, the self-excited oscillation in a cantilever probe is generated by linear feedback. In addition, the steady state amplitude is reduced by nonlinear feedback. Then, the cantilever probe has the same dynamics as van der Pol oscillator. We implement the excitation method to a practical cantilever probe of AFM, using the optical lever method and tube PZT scanner. For using our own making AFM, we experimentally confirm that the small steady state amplitude of the cantilever probe is realized.
