Abstract
A force sensing microcantilever has been developed with sputtered ZnO thin film sandwiched electrodes. Typical cantilever dimensions are 150 μm long×50 μm wide×3.5 μm thick. The ZnO film with thickness of 1.0 μm has high resistivity (≳2.0×107 Ω m) and good piezoelectricity. By detecting the change of the resistance between the electrodes, the static deflection of the cantilever end can be sensed. The ac deflection of the cantilever can be measured with high sensitivity by using the piezoelectric effect. The cantilever in question is useful for scanning force microscopy both in static contact mode and in dynamic mode.