Software & Consumables · FMT

Force Measurement Tips

Micro-force sensors on PCB supports — the calibrated tips for the Force Measurement System and SFAFM platform.

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A clear tray holding a grid of force-measurement tips — small black PCB supports each carrying a fine cantilever sensor.
< 20 nmTip radius
30 to 40 N/mForce constant
360 µNMaximum tip force

A calibrated spring, not just a probe#

Force Measurement Tips are piezo-resistive cantilever sensors — the FMT-120 in particular carries a tip radius under 20 nm and a calculated force constant of 30 to 40 N/m, so the whole assembly behaves as a proof mass on a known spring: deflection converts directly into force. The sensor bridge reads out at 18.8 × 10⁻³ mV/nm for a bridge voltage of 2.5 V, and its own resistance runs 500 to 650 Ω — the figures the Force Measurement System’s electronics are built around.

Headroom before the tip lets go#

Assuming a 10% deflection and the lowest force constant in the range, the tip is rated to a maximum force of 360 µN before contact is lost — enough range to cover most push, pull and contact measurements without swapping to a stiffer sensor. The same piezo-resistive bridge reports resonance as well as static force, so one tip covers both a force curve and a frequency-domain measurement.

The consumable front end#

Mounted on a small PCB support, each tip drops straight into the Force Measurement System or the SFAFM platform. When a tip’s spring constant drifts or its edge wears in service, you swap the PCB rather than recalibrating the whole setup.

Up close

Gallery

  • SEM image of two force-measurement cantilever sensors projecting from a PCB edge, with a 300 micrometre scale bar.
    Two FMT cantilevers on the PCB edge — 300 µm scale bar.
  • SEM image of two force-measurement cantilever sensors at closer range, with a 50 micrometre scale bar.
    A closer pair of cantilever sensors — 50 µm scale bar.
  • SEM image of a single FMT cantilever sensor with a pointed tip and a rectangular via cut through the beam, with a 50 micrometre scale bar.
    A single FMT-120 cantilever, tip radius under 20 nm — 50 µm scale bar.
  • SEM close-up of an FMT cantilever's pointed tip apex, with a 5 micrometre scale bar.
    The cantilever tip apex — 5 µm scale bar.
Specifications

Technical data

FMT-120 sensor

Tip radius
< 20 nm
Tip force constant (calculated)
30 to 40 N/m
Maximum tip force
360 µN
Resistance
500 to 650 Ω
Sensitivity
18.8 × 10⁻³ mV/nm at Vbridge = 2.5 V

Sensing principle

Technology
Piezo-resistive, force and resonance feedback
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