  The activated torsion oscillation magnetometer exploits the mechanical
resonance of a cantilever beam, driven by the torque exerted on the sample by
an ac field applied perpendicularly to the film plane. We describe a model for
the cantilever dynamics which leads to the calculation of the cantilever
dynamic profile and allows the mechanical sensitivity of the instrument to be
expressed in terms of the minimum electronically detectable displacement. We
have developed a capacitance detector of small oscillations which is able to
detect displacements of the order of 0.1 nm. We show that sensitivities of the
order of 0.5(10-11 Am2 can be in principle achieved. We will subsequently
describe the main features of the ATOM prototype which we have built and
tested, with particular attention to the design solutions which have been
adopted in order to reduce the effects of parasitic vibrations due either to
acoustic noise, originating from the ac field coil, or to eddy currents in the
capacitor electrodes. The instrument is mounted in a continuous flow cryostat
and can work in the 4.2-300 K temperature range. Finally, we will show that our
experimental set-up has a second mode of operation, named Torsion Induction
Magnetometer (TIM).
