Effect of laser deflection on resonant cantilever sensors

Laser beam deflection is a well known method commonly used in detecting resonance frequencies in atomic force microscopes and in mass/force sensing. The method focuses a laser spot on the surface of cantilevers to be measured, which might change the mechanical properties of the cantilevers and affect the measurement accuracy. In this work we showed that the joule heating of the laser, besides other extrinsic effects such as surface contamination, can cause a significant amount of shift in the resonator. The longer and softer the cantilever is, the more significant the effect. We suggest that the laser effects on the resonant response of sensors have to be taken into account.