Abstract In this paper we report on the fabrication of monolithic cantilevers for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) based on gallium arsenide material. For this purpose the etching properties of (1 0 0) oriented GaAs were studied to develop cantilevers with integrated tip of proper shape and aspect ratio. Although the mechanical properties of GaAs are similar to those of silicon – the basic material for microstructure technology – there are optical and electrical features unique to GaAs and related III/V semiconductors. The aim is to develop novel active and passive SPM probes exploiting these properties. Two probes are presented: at first a Schottky diode is integrated into a cantilever tip which can be used as an optical and thermal sensor for scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) and scanning thermal microscopy (SThM). Furthermore, a coplanar wave guide probe for high-frequency scanning electron force microscopy (HFSEFM) was fabricated based on semi-insulating GaAs exploiting its advantageous dielectric properties.
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