A comb-drive scanning-head array for fast scanning-probe microscope measurements

Gao, Shuang; Wolff, Helmut; Herrmann, Konrad; Brand, Uwe; Hiller, Karla; Hahn, S.; Sorger, A.; Mehner, Jan

doi:10.1117/12.886938

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…In the in-plane configuration, the oscillation direction of the cantilever is parallel to the wafer plane and coincides with the preferable motion direction of different electrostatic microactuators [38] (e.g. parallel plate actuators [24], curved electrodes [39], or comb drives [40,41]) allowing their straightforward integration. In this process both length and thickness of in-plane cantilever probes can be controlled by lithography, which gives more design freedom over the resonance frequency of these in-plane probes.…”

Section: Design and Fabrication Of In-plane Afm Probes With Sharp Sil...mentioning

confidence: 98%

Design and fabrication of in-plane AFM probes with sharp silicon nitride tips based on refilling of anisotropically etched silicon moulds

Geerlings

Sarajlic

Berenschot

et al. 2014

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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In this paper a micromachining method for batch fabrication of in-plane atomic force microscope (AFM) probes that consist of a sharp silicon nitride tip on a monocrystalline silicon cantilever is presented. The tips are realized by conformal deposition of silicon nitride inside an anisotropically etched cavity inside a silicon wafer. The best measured radius of the sharp tips was 8 nm. Our fabrication method is fully compatible with silicon-on-insulator (SOI) micromachining, allowing a straightforward monolithic integration of the AFM probes with high-aspect-ratio monocrystalline silicon MEMS. The fabrication method allows for lateral cantilevers, which oscillate in the plane of the fabrication wafer. This allows for simple integration of micromechanical transducers, opening the way towards dedicated probes for high speed AFMs. To demonstrate the innovation potential of this method, three different probe designs were fabricated: a plane passive AFM probe, a probe with integrated electrostatic actuator, and a probe which allows scanning on vertical sidewalls. The passive probes were successfully tested in a commercial AFM set-up. Correct operation of the probes with integrated actuator was demonstrated by actuation under a laser vibrometer.

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Section: Design and Fabrication Of In-plane Afm Probes With Sharp Sil...mentioning

confidence: 98%

Design and fabrication of in-plane AFM probes with sharp silicon nitride tips based on refilling of anisotropically etched silicon moulds

Geerlings

Sarajlic

Berenschot

et al. 2014

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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“…Ensuring electrical insulation of all active building blocks of a MEMS test stage can be considered as one main challenge during the integration process. The authors addressed this challenge by a layout based on multilayer silicon‐on‐insulator (SOI) wafers manufactured by Bonding and Deep Reactive Ion Etching (BDRIE) . Each layer is dedicated to a defined electrical purpose, but neither a single sensor or actuator nor a function.…”

Section: From Building Blocks To Test Platformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Highly Miniaturized MEMS‐Based Test Platforms for Thermo‐Mechanical and Reliability Characterization of Nano‐Functional Elements − Technology and Functional Test Results

Meszmer

Hahn

Hiller

et al. 2019

Physica Status Solidi (a)

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This paper reports on concepts, technology, integration aspects, and results of a MEMS-based test platform for reliability tests of micro and nano objects.Building blocks of this platform to be used in in-plane push-pull-configurations are a thermal actuator, a force sensor, and a displacement sensor as well as several types of samples to be integrated directly or indirectly. The technology concept is proven for aluminum wires as a first demonstrator for an integrated specimen. The modular concept enables the adoption of the platform for further types of samples and test configurations. The building blocks are simulated using a Finite-Element approach and the results are compared to experimentally obtained data sets. According to the specifications, the thermal actuator is capable of providing displacements up to 1.5 μm. The displacement and the force sensor are specified to provide sensitivities of 3 fF nm À1 and 2.5 μV nN À1 , respectively. SEM image of a piezoresistive force sensor attached to an integrated Al wire as test sample À building blocks of MEMS-based test platforms.

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“…An existing MEMS array, which was designed for the parallel probing of surfaces, and which consists of seven single MEMS placed next to each other [11,12], was used to create the double spring. A cantilever holder (figure 1) designed for other tasks had to be removed by using Focused Ion Beam (FIB) machining (figure 2).…”

Section: Device Design and Fabricationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This principle was realized for the first time by silicon bending springs for instrumented indenters [9]. In this paper the same principle was applied by using an existing micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS), already consisting of two springs with a gap of about 3 μm [11,12]. The device is intended to be used to calibrate the unknown stiffness of an external device, and the 3 μm gap between the two springs is intended to be used as a dimensional reference for the calibration of the displacement and the force of an external device.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silicon double spring for the simultaneous calibration of probing forces and deflections in the micro range

Brand

Gao

et al. 2015

Meas. Sci. Technol.

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A new reference spring for the simultaneous calibration of probing force and displacement has been developed. The spring consists of two single silicon springs, which are placed at a distance of 3 μm from each other. Each single spring consists of a moveable shaft, which is suspended and guided by four double-folded silicon springs. This leads to a much higher stiffness of the spring perpendicular to the direction of movement than in the direction of movement. The area of contact of the double spring has a size of 50 μm × 60 μm. However, measurable changes in the calibration parameters could not be observed when we varied the location of the loading point within this area. Furthermore, it could be shown for measurements at different temperatures that the calibration parameters also show a very small dependence on temperature (<0.4%/K between 22 °C and 23 °C). A further outstanding property of this new reference spring is its small non-linearity of the force deflection curve of 0.1%. The spring can be used for the calibration of force and the displacement of atomic force microscopes, nanoindenters, and stylus instruments in the micro-Newton range up to 12 μN and up to 3 μm displacements.

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A comb-drive scanning-head array for fast scanning-probe microscope measurements

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Design and fabrication of in-plane AFM probes with sharp silicon nitride tips based on refilling of anisotropically etched silicon moulds

Design and fabrication of in-plane AFM probes with sharp silicon nitride tips based on refilling of anisotropically etched silicon moulds

Highly Miniaturized MEMS‐Based Test Platforms for Thermo‐Mechanical and Reliability Characterization of Nano‐Functional Elements − Technology and Functional Test Results

Silicon double spring for the simultaneous calibration of probing forces and deflections in the micro range

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