Application of a co-resonant sensor concept in cantilever magnetometry

Cantilever magnetometry is a technique to study magnetic properties of particles and films. Decreasing sample size and thus a loss in signal strength require advances in this technique, regarding cantilever sensitivity and detection. We present a co-resonant magnetometry sensor concept based on a coupled harmonic oscillator, which employs a standard silicon AFM-cantilever with simple laser-deflection measurement but also allows the use of a very sensitive nanocantilever with low mass and spring constant as sensing element. For our magnetometry sensor, the nanocantilever is made of an iron-filled carbon nanotube (FeCNT), simultaneously acting as one of the oscillators and as magnetic sample. We demonstrate the functionality and significant increase in signal strength of our sensor-setup and compare it to other magnetometry experiments with similar FeCNTs.