Method for fabricating a sensor on a probe tip used for atomic force microscopy and the like
US5581083A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 11, 1995 |
| Grant date | Dec 3, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 11, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S977/875
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Nanometer holes can be reliably and repeatedly defined in the tips of cantilevered probes and used in various types of scanning microscopy by voltaicly defining the hole within a conductive layer disposed on the tip. The field strengths of the apex of the tip are sufficient to cause evaporation of the metal or conductive material from the apex onto an opposing sample substrate. The hole opens on the apex of the tip and is self-limited by the inherent threshold voltage strength required for vaporization, which voltage strength falls off rapidly from the tip. The hole may be defined in conductive layers in various combinations with oxide layers, other metal layers and semiconductor materials to define Schottky diodes, thermocouple junctions, near-field optical detectors, and atomic force tips. As a result, two or more physical interactions may be simultaneously exploited between the fabricated tip and the scanned sample from which a scanned image may be produced.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.