The influence of external low frequency (0-100 Hz) vibration on the tip-sample interaction in SPM is the main concern of this paper. A concept, vibration rejection ratio (VRR) proposed by Thompson et al, was investigated theoretically and experimentally. A concise theoretical background was introduced, a vibration stimulating and measuring system for SPM was built up, and an experimental research of the influence on SPM VRR was carried out with different SPM probes, samples, tip pre-loads and open/close loops of tip-sample interaction. It was proved both in theory and experiment that SPM VRR had correlations with the spring constant, the air damping constant, the effective mass of the cantilever, the contact spring constant and the contact damping constant between tip and sample. SPM's vibration rejecting ability can be improved by longer cantilever probe, softer sample surface, greater tip pre-load, and close-loop control for tip-sample interaction. More attention should be paid to a proper combination of the above parameters.
