Carbon Nanotube Atomic Force Microscopy Cantilevers

摘要

We report about our progress in developing a process for the manufacture of carbon nanotube (CNT) atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilevers. Due to their exceptional mechanical properties, CNT are among the most promising materials for high aspect ratio critical dimension metrology (CDM) AFM probes. Our goal is to produce well-defined long lasting CNT probes for CDM measurements in the < 100 nm pitch range. Our efforts currently focus on manufacturing precisely aligned CNT having defined locations, diameters and lengths. The CNT are grown using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The CNT growth process is enabled by the presence of a catalyst, which allows precise definition of the growth location. Experimental data from CNT grown on Si AFM probes and catalyst patterns prepared by focused ion beam (FIB) and electron beam lithography (EBL) is being shown. Furthermore, first results from scanning experiments with CNT-AFM cantilevers are shown.