SBIR Phase I: Batch Wafer-Scale Fabrication of Improved Probe Tips for Scanned Probe Microscopy

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将专注于开发和扩大制造原子力显微镜(AFM)探头尖端的新工艺。在原子力显微镜中，原子级分辨率的表面图像是通过将探头在表面上栅格来创建的。探头本身由尖端(与表面相互作用)和主体(支撑尖端并提供外部可读信号)组成。尖端曲率半径决定了可以成像的最小表面特征的大小，而尖端成分确定了它的硬度，从而决定了它的耐磨性。原子力显微镜广泛应用的主要障碍之一是探头尖端的耐用性差。这个项目将导致第一批制造尖端的过程，这些尖端既非常锋利，又非常坚硬。新的流程包括两个步骤。首先，化学气相沉积(CVD)被用来在尖端涂上一种化学惰性和极硬的材料。其次，场定向溅射锐化(FDSS)将探针尖端锐化到原子尺寸。该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是显著的。目前，在实验室环境中，CVD/FDSS工艺一次只对一个尖端进行涂层和磨尖。目前的项目将开发批量晶片规模的加工，以便数十或数百个尖端可以一次涂覆和磨尖，将为制造和销售超锋利、非常坚硬和相对便宜的AFM探头尖端的工艺奠定基础。这种探头尖端的提供可能导致AFM探头尖端市场的显著扩大，目前市场规模约为每年3500万美元，而且还在迅速增长。这些结果将显著提高所有探针显微镜方法的能力，包括AFM和相关技术，如扫描扩展电阻显微镜(SSRM)和电化学成像(ECAFM)。这项研究也将有利于那些对绝缘表面进行成像的人，例如聚合物和其他静电积聚限制效果的软材料。此外，该项目的结果可以扩展到用于光刻和纳米制造应用的多针尖探针阵列，以及集成电路的延迟故障的在线测试，这是微电子行业非常感兴趣的一种能力。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will focus on the development and scale-up of a new process for fabricating probe tips for atomic force microscopy (AFM). In AFM, images of surfaces with atomic-scale resolution are created by rastering a probe across the surface. The probe itself consists of a tip (which interacts with the surface) and a body (which supports the tip and provides an externally-readable signal). The tip radius of curvature determines the size of the smallest surface feature that may be imaged, and the tip composition establishes its hardness and thus its wear resistance. One of the main impediments to wider adoption of AFM has been the poor durability of probe tips. This project will lead to the first batch process to fabricate tips that are both extremely sharp and hard. The new process involves two steps. First, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is used to coat the tips with a chemically inert and extremely hard material. Second, field directed sputter sharpening (FDSS) sharpens the probe tip to atomic dimensions.The broader impacts/commercial potential of this project are significant. At present, the CVD/FDSS process has been implemented for coating and sharpening only one tip at a time in a laboratory setting. The current project, which will develop batch wafer-scale processing so that dozens or hundreds of tips can be coated and sharpened at once, will form the basis for a process to manufacture and sell AFM probe tips that are ultra-sharp, very hard, and relatively inexpensive. The availability of such probe tips could lead to a significant expansion of the market for AFM probe tips, which is currently approximately $35 million per year and growing rapidly. The results will significantly enhance the capabilities of all probe microscopy methods, including AFM and related techniques such as scanning spreading resistance microscopy (SSRM) and electrochemical imaging (ECAFM). The research will also be of benefit to those who image insulating surfaces, such as polymers and other soft materials where static charge build-up limits efficacy. In addition, the results of this project could be extended to multi-tip probe arrays for lithographic and nanomanufacturing applications, and to the on-board testing of integrated circuits for delay faults, a capability of great interest to the microelectronics industry.