Compact quartz tuning fork-atomic force microscope with a low thermal drift at room temperature

A quartz tuning fork-atomic force microscope (QTF-AFM) is one of the useful research instruments for studying atomic or molecular-level dynamics in an ultra-high vacuum and low-temperature environment. In such conditions, movement of atoms or molecules is minimized, eliminating concerns about thermal drift. However, if it is possible to accurately measure atomic or molecular-level dynamics at room temperature, valuable information about atomic or molecular motion in real-life scenarios can be obtained. Nonetheless, the biggest obstacle in observing molecular-level motion at room temperature is the difficulty in precisely determining the position due to thermal drift. In this study, to address this issue, glass material was used instead of conventional metal materials as a system body, and the size was significantly reduced to create a compact QTF-AFM system. The aim was to minimize the system's thermal drift (∼2 pm/s), thereby compensating for the challenge of accurately confirming positions affected by thermal drift.