Tuning Fork Sensor Controller

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.

Working Principle:

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)

Main Features:

• 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

Technical data: