Langasite as a piezoelectric material for near-field microscopy resonant cantilevers.

Quartz length-extension resonators have already been used to obtain atomically-resolved images by frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy. Other piezoelectric materials such as gallium orthophosphate (GaPO(4)), langatate (LGT), and langasite (LGS) could be appropriate for this application. In this paper, the advantages of langasite crystal are presented and the fabrication of similar microsensors in langasite temperature-compensated cuts by chemical etching is proved. A monolithic length extension resonator, with a tip at its end, is obtained which constitutes a real advantage in regard to the existing quartz devices.

Temperature compensated cuts in LGT crystal microresonators using length extensional mode.

In this letter, experimental investigation of frequency-temperature effects in langatate rectangular cross-section beams are presented. It is shown that a first-order temperature compensated cut exists for the first vibrating mode of length extension.