Experimental Analysis of Tip Vibrations at Higher Eigenmodes of QPlus Sensors for Atomic Force Microscopy

QPlus sensors are non-contact atomic force microscope probes constructed from a quartz tuning fork and a tungsten wire with an electrochemically etched tip. These probes are self-sensing and offer an atomic-scale spatial resolution. Therefore, qPlus sensors are routinely used to visualize the chemical structure of adsorbed organic molecules via the so-called bond imaging technique. This is achieved by functionalizing the AFM tip with a single CO molecule and exciting the sensor at the first vertical cantilever resonance mode. Recent work using higher-order resonance modes has also resolved the chemical structure of single organic molecules. However, in these experiments, the image contrast can differ significantly from the conventional bond imaging contrast, which was suspected to be caused by unknown vibrations of the tip. This work investigates the source of these artefacts by using a combination of mechanical simulation and laser vibrometry to characterize a range of sensors with different tip wire geometries. The results show that increased tip mass and length cause increased torsional rotation of the tuning fork beam due to the off-center mounting of the tip wire, and increased flexural vibration of the tip. These undesirable motions cause lateral deflection of the probe tip as it approaches the sample, which is rationalized to be the cause of the different image contrast. The results also provide a guide for future probe development to reduce these issues.

Study on Tunable Band Gap of Flexural Vibration in a Phononic Crystals Beam with PBT

Low-frequency flexural vibration plays a significant role in beam vibration control. To efficiently attenuate the propagation of flexural vibration at a low-frequency range, this paper proposes a new type of a phononic crystals beam with an adjustable band gap. The governing equations of flexural vibration in a periodic beam are established based on the Euler theory and Timoshenko theory. The band structures are calculated by the plane wave expansion method, the attenuation properties and transmission response curves with a finite periodic beam are calculated by the spectral element method and finite element method. The effects of the elastic foundation and axial stress on band gaps are discussed in detail, and the regulation of the temperature field on the band gap is emphatically studied. The theoretical and numerical results show that the elastic foundation and axial stress have significant influence on the band gap, and the location and width of the band gaps can be adjusted effectively when the Young’s modulus of PBT is changed by a varying temperature. The results are very useful for understanding and optimizing the design for composite vibration isolation beams.

Ultrasonic control of neurite outgrowth direction

This study investigated a method to control neurite outgrowth direction using ultrasound vibration. An ultrasound cell culture dish comprising a glass-bottom culture surface and a glass disc with an ultrasound transducer was fabricated, and undifferentiated neuron-like PC12 cells were grown on the dish as an adherent culture. The 78 kHz resonant concentric flexural vibration mode of the dish was used to quantitatively evaluate the neurite outgrowth direction and length. Time-lapse imaging of cells was performed for 72 h under ultrasound excitation. Unsonicated neurites grew in random directions, whereas neurite outgrowth was circumferentially oriented during ultrasonication in a power-dependent manner. The neurite orientation correlated with the spatial gradient of the ultrasound vibration, implying that neurites tend to grow in directions along which the vibrational amplitude does not change. Ultrasonication with 30 Vpp for 72 h increased the neurite length by 99.7% compared with that observed in unsonicated cells.

Lateral flexural vibration reduction in a periodic piping system enhanced with two-degrees-of-freedom resonators

Pipe systems are commonly used in the process and power industries to transport fluid from one terminal to others. Propagation behaviour of lateral flexural waves in a pipe coupled with periodic rack structure is investigated. The pipe-rack system considered in this study is a practical case and is realized as a pipe on periodic elastic supports, while a pipe on simple and without supports represents special cases when the rack stiffness leads to extreme values. The propagation constant relations in terms of frequency are derived using Bloch–Floquet theorem which are successively verified with finite element models. The results show that a pipe with rack creates a narrow locally resonant band gap in low-frequency range which is caused by the first natural mode of the rack. Conversely, a pipe on simple supports entails only Bragg-type band gaps, while a pipe without supports carries no band gap. For tuning the band gap properties, a two-degrees-of-freedom lateral localized resonator is attached to the centre of each unit cell of the pipe. It is found that certain frequency ranges in the targeted pass bands are effectively controlled by the resonator. Furthermore, the effect of various resonator parameters, i.e. mass ratio, stiffness and damping, on band gaps is examined. It is observed that the band gaps are vanished when damping is introduced in the system. The results show a promising way to flexural vibration control of a periodic piping system with various boundary conditions.