Force-detected ESR Measurements in a Terahertz Range up to 0.5 THz and Application to Hemin

Abstract

We report a novel force-detected high-frequency electron spin resonance (HFESR) technique using a microcantilever in the terahertz region. In this technique, we attach a tiny sample on the microcantilever end and the ESR signal is detected as the cantilever bending. The bending is sensitively detected by fiber-optic Fabry–Perot interferometry. We applied this technique to a tiny amount (~16 ng) of metalloporphyrin, a model substance of hemoproteins, and successfully observed ESR signals at multiple frequencies up to 0.5 THz. This result indicates that the sample volume needed in multi-frequency HFESR can be greatly reduced by several orders of magnitude, and our novel technique would be a promising tool for HFESR studies of metalloproteins in the future.