It is necessary to measure small forces when investigating, for example, new functional surfaces or the properties of biological tissue samples in medicine. PTB's new nano-force sensor is equipped with a probe whose displacements are detected via capacitive comb sensors. This allows small forces down to 10 nN to be detected. An integrated interferometer allows the displacement to be calibrated. This development is based on a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) which can be manufactured relatively easily and at low cost by means of lithography.
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