Patent ID: 8214915

Claim:
A cantilever system comprising: a cantilever comprising a lever portion having a proximal end that is supported by a main body part, a probe formed on a distal end portion of the lever portion, and a resistor member formed in the lever portion and that generates heat through application of an oscillating AC voltage to deform the lever portion by thermal expansion due to the heat to oscillate the lever portion and the probe; a voltage applying portion for applying an AC voltage to the resistor member; and a displacement measuring mechanism for measuring a displacement of the lever portion, wherein when the voltage applying portion periodically applies an AC voltage having an amplitude center line that is offset from a voltage center line, the lever portion oscillates at a frequency close to a resonance frequency of the lever portion in one of a positive voltage region and a negative voltage region, and when the voltage applying portion periodically applies an AC voltage having an amplitude center line that is not offset from the voltage center line, the lever portion oscillates at a frequency that is substantially a half of the resonance frequency of the lever portion across a positive voltage region and a negative voltage region.