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

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将重点开发和扩大原子力显微镜（AFM）探针头制造新工艺的规模。 在原子力显微镜（AFM）中，具有原子尺度分辨率的表面图像是通过在表面上光栅扫描探针来创建的。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尺寸，并且尖端成分确定了其硬度，从而确定了其耐磨性。 AFM被广泛采用的主要障碍之一是探针针尖的耐用性差。该项目将导致第一批工艺制造的提示，都是非常尖锐和硬。 新的过程包括两个步骤。首先，使用化学气相沉积（CVD）用化学惰性和极硬的材料涂覆尖端。 第二，场定向溅射锐化（FDSS）将探针针尖锐化到原子尺寸。该项目的广泛影响/商业潜力是重要的。 目前，CVD/FDSS工艺已经在实验室环境中一次仅用于涂覆和锐化一个尖端。 目前的项目将开发批量晶圆级加工，以便可以同时涂覆和锐化数十或数百个尖端，这将成为制造和销售超锋利，非常坚硬且相对便宜的AFM探针尖端的基础。 这种探针尖端的可用性可能会导致AFM探针尖端市场的显着扩张，目前每年约为3500万美元，并且正在迅速增长。结果将显着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，例如聚合物和其他软材料，在这些材料中，静电荷的积累限制了功效。 此外，该项目的结果可以扩展到多针尖探针阵列的光刻和纳米制造应用，并在板上测试集成电路的延迟故障，一个非常感兴趣的能力，微电子工业。

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.