Fabrication of single-crystal Si cantilever array

Abstract For the purpose of improvement in resolution of force gradient and mass detection in atomic force microscopy (AFM), we are developing cantilevers measuring a few microns. We succeeded in fabrication of a single-crystal Si cantilever with several microns size and measurement of its mechanical characteristics. A silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer was used for the fabrication. Fabrication was based on three anisotropic etching processes by KOH and two local oxidation processes of Si. Without depending on precision of lithography technique, triangular cantilevers measuring a few microns with tetrahedral tips on their ends were fabricated with high uniformity. The thickness of the cantilever could be chosen from 20 to 200 nm. Typical spring constants, resonance frequencies and Q factors of the single-crystal Si cantilevers were 0.01–10 N/m, 1–100 MHz and around 104 in vacuum. The density of the cantilever is up to 1 million cantilevers per cm2. One cantilever can be used for high sensitivity AFM or used in parallel to image a large area with high time efficiency.

[1]  Feasibility Studies on a Nanometric Oscillator Fabricated by Surface Diffusion for Use as a Force Detector in Scanning Force Microscopy. , 1999 .

[2]  H. Mimura,et al.  Fabrication of Silicon Quantum Wires Using Separation by Implanted Oxygen Wafer , 1994 .

[3]  W. Häberle,et al.  VLSI-NEMS chip for parallel AFM data storage , 2000 .

[4]  M. Esashi,et al.  Mechanical behavior of ultrathin microcantilever , 2000 .

[5]  Ute Drechsler,et al.  5×5 2D AFM cantilever arrays a first step towards a Terabit storage device , 1999 .

[6]  H. Toshiyoshi,et al.  Measurement of characteristics of nanometric mechanical oscillators , 2000, Proceedings IEEE Thirteenth Annual International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (Cat. No.00CH36308).

[7]  Vu Thien Binh,et al.  A mechanical nanosensor in the Gigahertz range-where mechanics meets electronics , 1994 .

[8]  S. Hosaka,et al.  Megahertz silicon atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilever and high-speed readout in AFM-based recording , 2000 .

[9]  Hiroyuki Fujita,et al.  Fabrication of Silicon-Based Filiform-Necked Nanometric Oscillators , 2000 .

[10]  D. Rugar,et al.  Frequency modulation detection using high‐Q cantilevers for enhanced force microscope sensitivity , 1991 .

[11]  Thomas W. Kenny,et al.  Integration of through-wafer interconnects with a two-dimensional cantilever array , 2000 .

[12]  Daisuke Saya,et al.  Development of a Versatile Atomic Force Microscope within a Scanning Electron Microscope , 2000 .

[13]  H. Fujita,et al.  Fabrication of a silicon based nanometric oscillator with a tip form mass for scanning force microcopy operating in the GHz range , 2000 .

[14]  T.E. Schaffer,et al.  Microfabricated small metal cantilevers with silicon tip for atomic force microscopy , 2000, Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems.