  We present a universal nanomechanical sensing platform for the investigation
of magnetostriction in thin films. It is based on a doubly-clamped silicon
nitride nanobeam resonator covered with a thin magnetostrictive film. Changing
the magnetization direction within the film plane by an applied magnetic field
generates a magnetostrictive stress and thus changes the resonance frequency of
the nanobeam. A measurement of the resulting resonance frequency shift, e.g. by
optical interferometry, allows to quantitatively determine the magnetostriction
constants of the thin film. We use this method to determine the
magnetostriction constants of a 10nm thick polycrystalline cobalt film, showing
very good agreement with literature values. The presented technique can be
useful in particular for the precise measurement of magnetostriction in a
variety of (conducting and insulating) thin films, which can be deposited by
e.g. electron beam deposition, thermal evaporation or sputtering.
