Electronic device to control the self-oscillation of tuning fork sensors and measure their frequency

The new NanoAndMore Tuning Fork Sensor Controller is an electronic device to control the self-oscillation of a quartz tuning fork based sensor and to measure its frequency.

The new NanoAndMore Tuning Fork Sensor Controller offers our customers the convenience of a ready to use electronic device to control and to measure the frequency of the NANOSENSORS™ Akiyama-Probe and other self-oscillating quartz tuning fork-based sensors without having to build the whole Akiyama-Probe set-up from scratch.

Quartz Tuning Forks are highly useful for various sensing applications such as Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), viscosity/vacuum measurements, Bio/chemical sensing, etc.

The Tuning Fork Sensor Controller excites the self-oscillation of quartz tuning-fork-based sensors at their resonance frequency. As soon as an external force or an environmental change influences the tuning fork, the self-oscillation frequency changes. By measuring the frequency shift, quantitative information of the analyte is obtained.

AFM topography image of HOPG (left) and scan profile along the dashed line (right)

• Control the self-oscillation of the Akiyama-Probe and other quartz tuning-fork-based sensors
• Measure the frequency of the Akiyama-Probe and other quartz tuning-fork-based sensors
• Optimized for the operation of the Akiyama-Probe in AFM applications
• Delivered with one Preamplifier board and one sensor holder ready for operation
• Delivered with a set of three tuning forks attached onto a support chip for testing
• Ready to use unit out of the box