Demonstration of an electrostatic-shielded cantilever

Journal Article · Mon Jan 23 00:00:00 EST 2006 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2168247· OSTI ID:20778584

Pingue, P; Piazza, V; Baschieri, P; Ascoli, C; Menozzi, C; Alessandrini, A; Facci, P ^[1]; IPCF and CNR, I-56100 Pisa ^[2]

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1. NEST CNR-INFM and Scuola Normale Superiore, I-56100 Pisa (Italy)
2. Italy

The fabrication and performances of cantilevered probes with reduced parasitic capacitance starting from a commercial Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} cantilever chip is presented. Nanomachining and metal deposition induced by focused ion beam techniques were employed in order to modify the original insulating pyramidal tip and insert a conducting metallic tip. Two parallel metallic electrodes deposited on the original cantilever arms are employed for tip biasing and as ground plane in order to minimize the electrostatic force due to the capacitive interaction between cantilever and sample surface. Excitation spectra and force-to-distance characterization are shown with different electrode configurations. Applications of this scheme in electrostatic force microscopy, Kelvin probe microscopy and local anodic oxidation is discussed.

• OSTI ID: 20778584
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 88, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2168247; (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
CAPACITANCE
DEPOSITION
ELECTRODES
ELECTRON PROBES
EXCITATION
FABRICATION
ION BEAMS
METALS
NANOSTRUCTURES
OXIDATION
PERFORMANCE
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SILICON NITRIDES
SPECTRA