Patent · US Expired

Wear coating applied to an atomic force probe tip

US6504151B1 · kind B1 · utility

39Cited by

9References

40Claims

0Family size

Assignee

FEI Company · US

Inventors

Thomas O. Mitchell · Trenton, US
Andreas Berghaus · Berlin, DE

Key dates

Filing date	Sep 13, 2000
Grant date	Jan 7, 2003
Priority date	—
Expiry date	Jan 26, 2021

Classification

Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
CPC primaryY10S977/879
WIPO fieldMeasurement
WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A probe tip manufactured from a conically shaped quartz tip etched to a fine apex. The quartz tip is coated with about 1 &mgr;m of a hard material such as silicon nitride. A probe tip having dimensions of about 100 nm×1 &mgr;m is then machined from the hard material adjacent to the apex of the quartz tip along the axis of the quartz tip. The machining is preferably performed by focused ion beam milling.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.