SBIR Phase I: Atomic force microscope-compatible magnetic tunnel junction sensor nanoprobe

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将研究一种具有纳米级空间分辨率和高灵敏度的新磁成像方法的可行性。新方法将联合收割机结合新兴技术的磁隧道结（MTJ）传感器-一种设备，提供了一个因素的10倍的改善，在磁阻比与最好的竞争巨磁阻器件-与主力技术的原子力显微镜（AFM）。 MTJ传感器的磁电阻率在100-200%的顺序将被制造和集成到标准的基于MEMS的方法的AFM提示。高空间分辨率将通过将MTJ传感器图案化到100纳米尺寸并通过使用AFM的标准力反馈方法来确保传感器和样品之间的最小间隔来获得。新方法将是定量和非侵入性的，不需要特殊的样品制备，并且具有比磁力显微镜好100倍的磁灵敏度，磁力显微镜是目前在纳米级磁场成像的主力技术。这项新技术还将能够测量电流产生的磁场，这是大多数竞争技术难以或不可能实现的能力。这项研究将产生各种科学、经济和社会影响。新的纳米探针将立即为任何依赖扫描探针技术测量磁性或载流材料的工程师或技术人员提供引人注目的优势。因此，它将成为半导体和磁盘驱动器行业的一种使能能力，在这些行业中，新的纳米探针可用于对磁盘介质和记录头进行成像，并对新原型和故障设备中的电流进行可视化和量化。同样，研究下一代磁性随机存取存储器的工程师将能够以高精度定量测量新器件。从更长远的角度来看，纳米技术、神经科学和生物工程等关键和不同领域的进展取决于能够在小长度尺度上非破坏性地测量材料和设备的物理特性的工具的可用性。例如，希望直接测量大脑电活动的研究人员将能够使用MTJ纳米探针来获得远上级目前任何其他方法的空间分辨率和灵敏度的组合。最后，开发物理现象可视化的新工具对于在更大的社区中建立科学意识和理解总是至关重要的。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of a new magnetic imaging method with nano-scale spatial resolution and high sensitivity. The new method will combine the emerging technology of the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) sensor -- a device which provides a factor of ten improvement in magnetoresistance ratio versus the best competing giant magnetoresistive devices -- with the workhorse technique of atomic force microscopy (AFM). MTJ sensors with magnetoresistance ratios on the order of 100-200% will be fabricated and integrated into the standard cantilever-based methodology of AFM tips. High spatial resolution will be obtained by patterning MTJ sensors to 100 nanometer-dimensions and by using AFM's standard force-feedback methods to ensure minimal standoff between the sensor and the sample. The new method will be quantitative and non-invasive, will require no special sample preparation, and will have a magnetic sensitivity which is 100 times better than magnetic force microscopy, the current workhorse technique for imaging magnetic fields at the nanoscale. The new technique will also be able to measure magnetic fields created by current flow, a capability which is difficult or impossible with most competing techniques.The research will have a variety of scientific, economic, and social impacts. The new nanoprobe will immediately present compelling advantages to any engineer or technician who relies on scanning probe techniques to measure magnetic or current-carrying materials. It would therefore be an enabling capability for the semiconductor and disk drive industries, where the new nanoprobe could be used to image disk media and recording heads, and to visualize and quantify current flow in both new prototypes and faulty devices. Similarly, engineers working on the next generation of magnetic random access memories will be able to quantitatively measure new devices with high accuracy. Taking a longer view, progress in the fields as critical and disparate as nanotechnology, neuroscience, and bio-engineering depends on the availability of tools which can non-destructively measure physical properties of materials and devices at small length scales. For example, researchers wishing to directly measure electrical activity in the brain will be able to use the MTJ nanoprobe to obtain a combination of spatial resolution and sensitivity far superior to anything else currently available. Finally, the development of new tools for visualization of physical phenomena is always critical for creating scientific awareness and understanding in the larger community.