Enhancing sensitivity in atomic force microscopy for planar tip-on-chip probes.

We present a new approach to tuning-fork-based atomic force microscopy for utilizing advanced "tip-on-chip" probes with high sensitivity and broad compatibility. Usually, such chip-like probes with a size reaching 2 × 2 mm drastically perturb the oscillation of the tuning fork, resulting in poor performance in its intrinsic force sensing. Therefore, restoring initial oscillatory characteristics is necessary for regaining high sensitivity.