The most common method for cantilever-deflection measurements is the beam-deflection method. In this method, laser light from a solid-state diode is reflected off the back of the cantilever and collected by a position-sensitive detector (PSD) consisting of two closely spaced photodiodes, whose output signal is collected by a differential amplifier.
Angular displacement of the cantilever results in one photodiode collecting more light than the other photodiode, producing an output signal (the difference between the photodiode signals normalized by their sum), which is proportional to the deflection of the cantilever. The sensitivity of the beam-deflection method is very high, and a noise floor on the order of 10 fm Hz can be obtained routinely in a well-designed system. Although this method is sometimes called the "optical lever" method, the signal is not amplified if the beam path is made longer. A longer beam path increases the motion of the reflected spot on the photodiodes, but also widens the spot by the same amount due to diffraction, so that the same amount of optical power is moved from one photodiode to the other. The "optical leverage" (output signal of the detector divided by deflection of the cantilever) is inversely proportional to the numerical aperture of the beam focusing optics, as long as the focused laser spot is small enough to fall completely on the cantilever. It is also inversely proportional to the length of the cantilever.
The relative popularity of the beam-deflection method can be explained by its high sensitivity and simple operation, and by the fact that cantilevers do not require electrical contacts or other special treatments, and can therefore be fabricated relatively cheaply with sharp integrated tips.