Many other methods for beam-deflection measurements exist. 
* Piezoelectric detection – Cantilevers made from quartz  (such as the qPlus configuration), or other piezoelectric materials can directly detect deflection as an electrical signal. Cantilever oscillations down to 10pm have been detected with this method.
* Laser Doppler vibrometry – A laser Doppler vibrometer can be used to produce very accurate deflection measurements for an oscillating cantilever  (thus is only used in non-contact mode). This method is expensive and is only used by relatively few groups.
* Scanning tunneling microscope (STM) — The first atomic microscope used an STM complete with its own feedback mechanism to measure deflection. This method is very difficult to implement, and is slow to react to deflection changes compared to modern methods.
* Optical interferometry – Optical interferometry can be used to measure cantilever deflection. Due to the nanometre scale deflections measured in AFM, the interferometer is running in the sub-fringe regime, thus, any drift in laser power or wavelength has strong effects on the measurement. For these reasons optical interferometer measurements must be done with great care (for example using index matching fluids between optical fibre junctions), with very stable lasers. For these reasons optical interferometry is rarely used.
* Capacitive detection – Metal coated cantilevers can form a capacitor with another contact located behind the cantilever. Deflection changes the distance between the contacts and can be measured as a change in capacitance.
* Piezoresistive detection – Cantilevers can be fabricated with piezoresistive elements that act as a strain gauge. Using a Wheatstone bridge, strain in the AFM cantilever due to deflection can be measured. This is not commonly used in vacuum applications, as the piezoresistive detection dissipates energy from the system affecting Q of the resonance.