Development of Insulated Conductive AFM Probes for Experiments in Electrochemical Environment

摘要

We present an insulated conductive atomic force microscope (AFM) probe with Au tip. The probe is based on a previously reported Pt_xSi_y-tip AFM probe. After the fabrication of the Pt_xSi_y-tip probe, a homogeneous gold cluster layer was grown exclusively on the conductive tip apex by feedback controlled electrochemical deposition of Au in a HAuCl_4 based electrolyte. The size of the gold clusters was around 2～5 nm in diameter. A controlled deposition of approximately 10 nm-thick gold layer was successfully achieved. A typical tip radius of curvature was 40 nm. A potential application of this probe is simultaneous characterization of mechanical and electrical properties of molecules.