Note: Micro-cantilevers with AlN actuators and PtSi tips for multi-frequency atomic force microscopy Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 096107 (2012); 10.1063/1.4755749
Mechanism of eliminating basal plane dislocations in SiC thin films by epitaxy on an etched substrateCantilevers with resonance frequency ranging from 1 MHz to 100 MHz have been developed for dynamic atomic force microscopy. These sensors are fabricated from 3C-SiC epilayers grown on Si(100) substrates by low pressure chemical vapor deposition. They use an on-chip method both for driving and sensing the displacement of the cantilever. A first gold metallic loop deposited on top of the cantilever is used to drive its oscillation by electrothermal actuation. The sensing of this oscillation is performed by monitoring the resistance of a second Au loop. This metallic piezoresistive detection method has distinct advantages relative to more common semiconductor-based schemes. The optimization, design, fabrication, and characteristics of these cantilevers are discussed. V C 2014 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx.
One way to improve the force sensitivity of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) cantilevers is to increase their resonance frequency. SiC is an excellent material for that purpose due to its high Young’s modulus and low mass density. This size reduction makes conventional optical motion detection methods inappropriate. Here, we introduce self-sensing, self-excited high frequency AFM cantilevers. The motion detection is based on the measurement of a metallic piezoresistor incorporated in the cantilever. The motion excitation is performed by electrothermal actuation using another metallic circuit. Cantilevers with sizes as low as 4 μm in length, 1.2 μm in width and 0.5 μm in thickness were realized by using different steps of e-beam lithography, deposition of thin gold films to pattern the piezoresistor and the electrothermal actuation electrode. Dry etching SF6plasma was used for etching the SiC cantilever and TMAH solution heated to 80°C to release the cantilever. In this case, a thigh control of underetching, which reduces the cantilever resonance frequency was required.
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