A measurement technique for the charge on a single toner particle using nanotweezers (MEMS-based actuated tweezers) and an AFM cantilever has been developed. This unique system was designed to measure the image force on the cantilever induced by a charged toner particle gripped by nanotweezers. A method for calculating the toner charge from the image force has also been established by replacing the non-uniform charge distribution with an imaginary point charge. The proposed technique is validated with consistent results using the blow-off method and is promising for analyzing single isolated toner particles, e.g., fogging or transfer dust toner.
Daichi Yamaguchi, Shuusuke Someno, Masaya Hamaguchi, "Measurement technique for electrostatic charge on single toner particle with MEMS-based actuated tweezers" in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies and Digital Fabrication (NIP31), 2015, pp 81 - 84, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2015.31.1.art00019_1