Enhancing Membrane-Based Scanning Force Microscopy Through an Optical Cavity

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel cavity-based scanning force microscope utilizing a silicon nitride membrane sensor, enabling high-precision, low-temperature nanoscale measurements by spatially separating scanning and readout sites.

Contribution

The work introduces a new membrane-based scanning force microscopy technique that overcomes geometric constraints using extended mechanical modes, suitable for ultra-sensitive low-temperature applications.

Findings

Successful demonstration of a cavity-based membrane scanning force microscope.

Ability to spatially separate scanning and readout sites on the membrane.

Potential for nanoscale nuclear spin detection and imaging at low temperatures.

Abstract

The new generation of strained silicon nitride resonators harbors great promise for scanning force microscopy, especially when combined with the extensive toolbox of cavity optomechanics. However, accessing a mechanical resonator inside an optical cavity with a scanning tip is challenging. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a cavity-based scanning force microscope based on a silicon nitride membrane sensor. We overcome geometric constraints by making use of the extended nature of the mechanical resonator normal modes, which allows us to spatially separate the scanning and readout sites of the membrane. Our microscope is geared towards low-temperature applications in the zeptonewton regime, such as nanoscale nuclear spin detection and imaging.