Development and marketing of piezoresistive self-sensing cantilevers for laser-free AFM measurements at the nanoscale.

c-sense GmbH

Langenlois (headquarters) · Wiener Neustadt (TFZ laboratory) · Vienna (Tech Park Vienna laboratory)New on Amplifa

GmbH, FN 539869 a, Commercial Court ofLegal form

Dr. Ernest J. FantnerManagement

3Sites in Austria

Europe, North America, AsiaDelivery regions

About c-sense

c-sense GmbH is an Austrian nanotechnology company headquartered in Langenlois (Lower Austria), with laboratories at the TFZ Wiener Neustadt and in the Tech Park Vienna. The company develops and markets piezoresistive self-sensing cantilevers for atomic force microscopy (AFM), in which detection of the cantilever deflection is electrically integrated – without external laser alignment and an optical detection path. The product portfolio comprises silicon cantilevers with and without tips, patented trilayer cantilevers based on a polymer thin-film architecture, conductive variants for KPFM, EFM and cAFM as well as Quantum Cryogenic Trilayer (QCT) cantilevers for cryogenic and quantum measurements. In addition, c-sense offers readout electronics (NanoOne Starter Kit, NanoLab Pro), custom cantilever development, OEM integration and application engineering. The technology, which is based on decades of development of piezoresistive self-sensing cantilevers and continues the activities of SCL Sensor.Tech, has been published in Nature Electronics. Customers include universities, research institutions and industrial partners in Europe, North America and Asia, particularly from biotechnology, semiconductor metrology, nanomechanics, quantum technologies and magnetic measurements.

Site: Langenlois
Processes: Manufacture of piezoresistive self-sensing AFM cantilevers (MEMS microfabrication), Development and customization of cantilever solutions (custom development, OEM integration), System integration of sensor technology and readout electronics (NanoOne, NanoLab Pro), Nanoscale measurement services: topography, mechanical properties, KPFM/EFM, cAFM, MFM, bio-AFM, Custom Cantilever Development, OEM Integration, AFM Integration, Application Engineering
Materials: Silicon, Polymer thin film (trilayer architecture), Semiconductor thin film (trilayer), Ceramic thin film (trilayer), Trilayer architecture (polymer thin film)
Industries: Biotechnology, Semiconductor metrology, Nanomechanics, Quantum technologies, Magnetic measurements, OEM instrumentation

01
Product definition and custom cantilever development
02
MEMS microfabrication with specialized manufacturing partners
03
Electronics for high-performance readout (NanoOne, NanoLab Pro)
04
System integration and AFM integration
05
Application engineering, customer support and training

Materials & Processes

Silicon

Base material of the piezoresistive self-sensing cantilevers, with or without silicon tip, in various resonance frequencies and stiffnesses.

Tri

Trilayer architecture (polymer thin film)

Patented polymer–semiconductor–ceramic layer structure for high force sensitivity and liquid-compatible MEMS applications.

cTri

Semiconductor thin film (trilayer)

Used as a layer in the trilayer cantilevers for conductive and electrostatic AFM measurements.

qTri

Ceramic thin film (trilayer)

Hard thin film in the trilayer structure, optimized for cryogenic and quantum measurement environments.

Sites

Langenlois

Headquarters

Materials: Silicon, trilayer

Wiener Neustadt

Laboratory at the TFZ Technology and Research Centre, Viktor Kaplan-Straße 2, Building E – 2nd floor

NanoOne
NanoLab Pro

Vienna

Laboratory at the Tech Park Vienna, Gutheil-Schoder-Gasse 17

Components & Products

**Trilayer Self-Sensing Cantilever**MEMS microfabrication · Nanomechanics

**Quantum Cryogenic Trilayer (QCT) Cantilever**Piezoresistive sensor · Quantum technologies

**Conductive Trilayer Cantilever**Self-sensing · KPFM/EFM/cAFM

**NanoOne Starter Kit**Readout electronics · System integration

Inside the production

Rendering of a trilayer self-sensing cantilever with thin film and

Comparison: optical readout versus integrated piezoresistive readout

Nanomechanical microscope: AFM scanner, nano-indenter and optical microscope

Self-sensing cantilever holder in an opaque liquid with AFM images

Industries

BiotechnologySemiconductor metrologyNanomechanicsQuantum technologiesMagnetic measurementsOEM instrumentationResearch/AcademiaAdvanced OEM Instrumentation

Processes & technical limits

Processes	Tolerance	Max. part	Weight	Lot size	Materials
Manufacture of piezoresistive self-sensing AFM cantilevers (MEMS microfabrication)Engineering	–	–	–	–	Silicon, Polymer thin-film trilayer, Semiconductor thin film, Ceramic thin film
Development and customization of cantilever solutions (custom development, OEM integration)Engineering	–	–	–	–	–
System integration of sensor technology and readout electronics (NanoOne, NanoLab Pro)Assembly	–	–	–	–	–
Nanoscale measurement services: topography, mechanical properties, KPFM/EFM, cAFM, MFM, bio-AFMTesting	–	–	–	–	–

1 Anlagen & Maschinen

Machine	Manufacturer / model	Quantity	Working area	Year built	Site
AFM metrology / nanomechanical microscope	c-sense NanoOne Starter Kit / NanoLab Pro electronics	–	–	–	Wiener Neustadt / Langenlois / Vienna

Additional services

Custom Cantilever DevelopmentOEM IntegrationAFM IntegrationApplication EngineeringElectronics for high-performance readout (NanoOne, NanoLab Pro)Application-specific adaptationCustomer support/training

Reference customers

AlemnisDanube University (Donau-Universität Krems)EPFL

History

Originated from the continuation of the SCL Sensor.Tech activities: The technology is based on decades of development of piezoresistive self-sensing cantilevers.
Eureka label for the CAS-C project NanoInspect with the partners Alemnis, Danube University Krems and EPFL.
2024
Publication of the trilayer technology in Nature Electronics (N. Hosseini et al., DOI 10.1038/s41928-024-01195-z).