Atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe

thingiverse

Atomic force microscopy probes are commonly used to examine surfaces at the nanoscale. A typical design consists of a sharp tip attached to a flexible cantilever that can be easily manipulated due to its sturdy base, made from a substantial piece of silicon. This model is a scaled-down version of such a probe, intended to facilitate demonstrations. The cantilever should exhibit sufficient flexibility to demonstrate bending and resonance, while the tip must be sufficiently sharp to accurately depict the difficulties encountered during scanning, such as the misrepresentation of steep edges. This design was loosely based on commercial probes, maintaining their aspect ratio but without replicating their specific geometrical features.