Market launch for novel AFM Probe Manufacturing Process

原子力显微镜（AFM）用于以小于纳米的分辨率对材料的表面形貌进行成像。它们被用于半导体、纳米材料的开发，并越来越多地用于生物科学中对生物分子进行成像。他们使用一个安装在微调振动悬臂末端的尖端探针来“感觉”材料表面。AFM探针类似于乙烯基唱片使用的触针，然而，针尖要小得多，而且制作精确。针尖半径通常小于10 nm;只有几个原子大小。目前使用的制造方法依赖于昂贵的材料和资本设备，并且探针的生产非常缓慢且成本高昂。NuNano开发了一种制造这些精密产品的方法，可以将制造成本降低90%，并提高质量和一致性。该项目旨在扩大这一工艺的规模，以实现批量生产，并在未来4年内将我们的探头销售量提高到全球每月约25，000个探头。

Atomic Force microscopes (AFMs) are used to image the surface topography of materials with a resolution of less than a nanometer. They are used in the development of semiconductors, nanomaterials and, increasingly, in biological science to image biomolecules. They use a probe with a sharp tip mounted at the end of finely tuned vibrating cantilever to ‘feel’ the material surface. AFM probes are analogous to a stylus as used with vinyl records, however, the tip is much smaller and precisely made. The tip radius is typically less than 10nm radius; only a few atoms in size. The manufacturing methods currently used rely on expensive materials and capital equipment and probes are very slow and costly to produce. NuNano has developed a way of manufacturing these precision products which can reduce the manufacturing costs by as much as 90% and with improved quality and consistency. This project is to scale this process up for volume manufacture and to increase our sales of probes to around 25,000 probes per month worldwide over the next 4 years.