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General and Special Probes in Scanning Microscopies

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Nanotribology and Nanomechanics I

Abstract

scanning probe microscopy (SPM) Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) provides nanometer-scale mapping of numerous sample properties in essentially any environment. This unique combination of high resolution and broad applicability has led to the application of SPM to many areas of science and technology, especially those interested in the structure and properties of materials at the nanometer scale. SPM images are generated through measurements of a tip–sample interaction. A well-characterized tip is the key element to data interpretation and is typically the limiting factor.

atomic force microscopy (AFM) Commercially available atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips, integrated with force-sensing cantilevers, are microfabricated from silicon and silicon nitride by lithographic and anisotropic etching techniques. The performance of these tips can be characterized by imaging nanometer-scale standards of known dimension, and the resolution is found to roughly correspond to the tip radius of curvature, the tip aspect ratio, and the sample height. Although silicon and silicon nitride tips have a somewhat large radius of curvature, low aspect ratio, and limited lifetime due to wear, the widespread use of AFM today is due in large part to the broad availability of these tips. In some special cases, small asperities on the tip can provide resolution much higher than the tip radius of curvature for low-Z samples such as crystal surfaces and ordered protein arrays.

Several strategies have been developed to improve AFM tip performance. Oxide sharpening improves tip sharpness and enhances tip asperities. For high-aspect-ratio samples such as integrated circuits, focused ion beam (FIB) silicon AFM tips can be modified by focused ion beam (FIB) milling. FIB tips reach 3° cone angles over lengths of several microns and can be fabricated at arbitrary angles.

electron beam deposition (EBD) Other high resolution and high-aspect-ratio tips are produced by electron-beam deposition (EBD), in which a carbon spike is deposited onto the tip apex from the background gases in an electron microscope. Finally, carbon nanotubes have been employed as AFM tips. Their nanometer-scale diameter, long length, high stiffness, and elastic buckling properties make them possibly the ultimate tip material for AFM. Nanotubes can be manually attached to silicon or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) silicon nitride AFM tips or grown onto tips by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which should soon make them widely available. In scanning tunneling microscopy scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) (STM), the electron tunneling signal decays exponentially with tip–sample separation, so that in principle only the last few atoms contribute to the signal. STM tips are, therefore, not as sensitive to the nanoscale tip geometry and can be made by simple mechanical cutting or electrochemical etching of metal wires. In choosing tip materials, one prefers hard, stiff metals that will not oxidize or corrode in the imaging environment.

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Abbreviations

AC:

alternating-current

AC:

amorphous carbon

AFM:

atomic force microscope

AFM:

atomic force microscopy

CCD:

charge-coupled device

CNF:

carbon nanofiber

CNT:

carbon nanotube

CVD:

chemical vapor deposition

DC-PECVD:

direct-current plasma-enhanced CVD

DC:

direct-current

EBD:

electron beam deposition

EBID:

electron-beam-induced deposition

FIB:

focused ion beam

LPCVD:

low-pressure chemical vapor deposition

MEMS:

microelectromechanical system

MWNT:

multiwall nanotube

NSOM:

near-field scanning optical microscopy

PECVD:

plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

PMMA:

poly(methyl methacrylate)

SEM:

scanning electron microscope

SEM:

scanning electron microscopy

SPM:

scanning probe microscope

SPM:

scanning probe microscopy

STM:

scanning tunneling microscope

STM:

scanning tunneling microscopy

SWNT:

single wall nanotube

SWNT:

single-wall nanotube

TEM:

transmission electron microscope

TEM:

transmission electron microscopy

UHV:

ultrahigh vacuum

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics and Astronomy – MS61, Rice University, 1892, Houston, TX, 77251–1892, USA

    Jason Hafner

  2. Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, National Central University, 300 Jung-Da Rd, Chung-Li, Taoyuan, 320, Taiwan

    Edin (I-Chen) Chen

  3. University of California, San Diego PFBH Room 219 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0412, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093–0412, USA

    Ratnesh Lal

  4. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA

    Sungho Jin

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  1. Jason Hafner
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Correspondence to Jason Hafner .

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  1. Nanoprobe Lab. for Bio- & Nanotechnology, Biomimetics (NLB²), Ohio State University, West 19th Avenue 201, Columbus, 43210-1142, Ohio, USA

    Bharat Bhushan

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Hafner, J., Chen, E.(C., Lal, R., Jin, S. (2011). General and Special Probes in Scanning Microscopies. In: Bhushan, B. (eds) Nanotribology and Nanomechanics I. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15283-2_3

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