Fabrication of high aspect ratio AFM probes with diamond apex

具有金刚石尖端的高纵横比 AFM 探针的制造

• 批准号: 543529-2019
• 负责人: Cui, Bo
• 金额: $ 8.34万
• 依托单位: University of Waterloo
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=699594
• 关键词: Fabrication; aspect; ratio; AFM; probes

A widely used tool in nano-scale characterization is the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), with popular applications in large semiconductor companies such as IBM, Intel, AMD and Seagate for the quality assurance of their chips and small electronics. It is also widely used in a variety of research fields and emerging technologies. The most important part of the AFM is the probe or tip which "feels" the sample surface and creates a three-dimensional image of the specimen surface. A major drawback in AFM usage is the lifetime of its disposable probe which is the main component in defining the resolution and quality of the images. Conventionally, these probes are made of silicon; but due to poor mechanical properties of silicon, some manufacturers have switched to other alternatives such as silicon nitride, carbon nanotubes, and diamond coated silicon probes. Although these probes have shown a longer lifetime than the regular silicon probes, they are significantly more expensive. In this project, we will develop a method to fabricate high aspect ratio diamond AFM probes at low cost. We plan to employ electron beam lithography to fabricate these probes from SOI wafers, with significantly reduced fabrication cost than high aspect ratio diamond tips made by focused ion beam milling. Our tip apex will also be considerably sharper than diamond tips made by coating a diamond film onto a silicon tip. We will increase the reproducibility to streamline the batch manufacturing process for this product.

原子力显微镜（AFM）是一种广泛用于纳米级表征的工具，在IBM、Intel、AMD和Seagate等大型半导体公司中广泛应用，以确保其芯片和小型电子产品的质量。它还广泛应用于各种研究领域和新兴技术。原子力显微镜最重要的部分是探针或针尖，它“感觉”样品表面并创建样品表面的三维图像。AFM使用的一个主要缺点是其一次性探针的寿命，这是定义图像分辨率和质量的主要组成部分。传统上，这些探针由硅制成;但由于硅的机械性能差，一些制造商已经转向其他替代品，如氮化硅，碳纳米管和金刚石涂层硅探针。虽然这些探针显示出比常规硅探针更长的寿命，但它们明显更昂贵。在本计画中，我们将发展一种低成本制作高深宽比钻石原子力显微镜探针的方法。我们计划采用电子束光刻技术从SOI晶片制造这些探针，与由聚焦离子束铣削制成的高纵横比金刚石尖端相比，制造成本显著降低。我们的尖端顶点也将比通过在硅尖端上涂覆金刚石膜制成的金刚石尖端尖锐得多。我们将提高重现性，以简化该产品的批生产工艺。