Piezo‐Resistive Sensing (PRS) probes are silicon cantilevers with  a long‐life single crystal diamond tip (SCD). Integrated piezoresistors are used for self‐sensing the cantilever deflection. The  piezo‐resistors  are  integrated  into  a  matched  Wheatstone  bridge to raise the sensitivity and compensate environmental  thermal  drift.

Self‐sensing  readout  technology  makes  laser  adjustment obsolete and saves time during a cantilever change.  The free space above the cantilever enables new applications  and combination of AFM with various instruments. The SCD tip  exhibits  low  surface  energy,  which  prevents  contamination  when imaging sticky or biological samples.

The cantilever chip is  bonded  to  a  small  printed  circuit  board  (PCB)  with  a  small  connector to enable a quick cantilever change. A counter part  PCB for the cantilever PCB can be connected to a low‐noise preamplifier with a flat flex cable.