Susceptibility of atomic force microscope cantilevers to lateral forces

V-shaped cantilevers are used widely in the atomic force microscope (AFM) due to their perceived enhanced resistance to lateral forces in comparison to rectangular cantilevers. In this article, we rigorously investigate this premise, and in so doing establish that, contrary to established operating principles and intuition, V-shaped AFM cantilevers are generally more prone to the effects of lateral forces than rectangular AFM cantilevers. This finding suggests that rectangular cantilevers should be used in place of V-shaped cantilevers in applications where the effects of lateral forces are to be minimized. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.