Enhancing thermally induced effects on atomic force microscope cantilevers using optical microcavities

A theory of enhancing thermally induced effects on atomic force microscope cantilevers with respect to the input power is proposed. An optical microcavity is used to increase the absorbed power and radiation pressure on thin films. We show that the response to the input power is enhanced up to an order of magnitude for cantilevers of similar to 200 mu m in length and similar to 0.5 mu m in thickness. A decrease in the absorbed power in the presence of cantilever deflection increases system endurability with respect to the input power. The study gives methods for amplifying and tuning vibration amplitudes in amplitude modulation modes with high sensitivity and low controlling input power. (C) 2016 The Japan Society of Applied Physics