Nanometer-scale structures with high aspect ratio such as nanowires and nanotubes combine low mechanical dissipation with high resonance frequencies, making them ideal force transducers and scanning probes in applications requiring the highest sensitivity. Such structures promise record force sensitivities combined with ease of use in scanning probe microscopes. A wide variety of possible material compositions and functionalizations is available, allowing for the sensing of various kinds of forces with optimized sensitivity. In addition, nanowires possess quasi-degenerate mechanical mode doublets, which has allowed the demonstration of sensitive vectorial force and mass detection. These developments have driven researchers to use nanowire cantilevers in various force sensing applications, which include imaging of sample surface topography, detection of optomechanical, electrical, and magnetic forces, and magnetic resonance force microscopy. In this review, we discuss the motivation behind using nanowires as force transducers, explain the methods of force sensing with nanowire cantilevers, and give an overview of the experimental progress and future prospects of the field.
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