US Patent 7134349 Micro-force sensing system

An improved microforce sensing system is provided. The microforce sensing system includes: a force sensor configured to detect a contact force exerted on a contact tip of the cantilever and operable to generate a signal indicative of the contact force, where the cantilever is constructed from a polyvinylidene fluoride material in the form of a substantially rectangular plate or other suitable shapes; and a processing circuit adapted to receive the signal from the force sensor and operable to determine the contact force exerted on the tip by integrating the signal from the force sensor.