Design of electronic module for OBD system in AFM for undergraduate study

Optical beam deflection (OBD) method tends to be the preferred choice when it is to be used in an atomic force microscopy (AFM) due to its simpler setup and its cost effectiveness. By using the OBD setup, the topographic image is generated based on the cantilever deflection, which deflects the laser shone on the backside of the cantilever. In this study, electronic modules used to acquire and process the deflection signal is designed by using components that can be commonly found in undergraduate's laboratory. In the paper, the design of the electronics modules that can be implemented in an AFM for undergraduate studies is reported.