Atomic force microscope – TechConnect Briefs

A More Accurate and Precise Method to Calibrate Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) Cantilevers

Clark J.V., Auburn University, US

This paper presents a method for using a calibrated microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device to calibrate an atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever. Measure- ments of stiffness and deflection can be made with quantifiable uncertainty. The popular [...]

Measurement of DPN-Ink Viscosity using an AFM Cantilever

Biswas S., Hirtz M., Lenhert S., Fuchs H., Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, DE

The Dip-Pen Nanolithography (DPN) process uses a chemically coated scanning probe tip (the “pen”) to directly deposit a material (“ink”) with nanometer precision onto a substrate. Several experimental parameters have been observed to influence the [...]

Nanoscale Graphene Lithography Using an Atomic Force Microscope

Kumar K., Yang E.H., Stevens Institute of Technology, US

In this work, we study Atomic Force Microscope local oxidation lithography to precisely fabricate nanometer-scale structures from graphene, a recently discovered material with exceptional electrical properties. We have systematically studied oxidation parameters (electric field, humidity, [...]

Analysis of density variation for different temperatures in thermal nano imprinting process

Lee D.E., Lee H.J., Lee W.I., Lee D.E., Lee H.J., Lee W.I., Choi S-W, Lee D.E., Lee H.J., Lee W.I., Seoul National University, KR

Density variation of the polymer resist for different temperatures in thermal nano imprinting1 process was studied by both experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. After patterning, we estimated the local density by measuring the pull-off [...]

A New High Precision Procedure for AFM Probe Spring Constant Measurement using a Microfabricated Calibrated Reference Cantilever Array (CRCA)

Reitsma M.G., Gates R.S., National Institute of Standards and Technology, US

A new technique for calibrating Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) cantilevers is demonstrated using a unique array of microfabricated reference cantilevers. The array, consisting of seven uniform rectangular cantilevers of different length (and thus stiffness), was [...]

New reference standards and artifacts for nanoscale property characterization

Pratt J.R., Kramar J.A., Shaw G., Gates R., Rice P., Moreland J., National Institute of Standards and Technology, US

This paper provides an overview of calibration artifacts being developed at NIST that will greatly aid the accurate determination of nanoscale physical properties across a broad range of applications. We focus on three proposed reference [...]

Low Voltage Electron Beam Lithography in PMMA

Bolorizadeh M., Joy D.C., University of Tennessee, US

To examine the practical limits and problems of low voltage operation, we have studied electron beam lithography (EBL) in the low (few keV) to ultra-low (E < 100eV) energy range, employing commonly used resists such [...]

Virtual Probe Microscope

Heying M., Oliver J., Sundararajan S., Shrotryia P., Zou Q., Sannier A., Iowa State University, US

Virtual Probe Microscope (VPM) is a tool that has been developed to train users on Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) operation. The benefits from training with VPM include: reduced cost of training and increased transfer of [...]

Mechanical Nonlinear Generation with Coupled Torsional Harmonic Cantilevers for Sensitive and Quantitative Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging of Material Characteristics

Sahin O., Quate C.F., Solgaard O., Stanford University, US

Tapping-mode atomic force microscopy has been the most widely used mode of operation. Due to non-linear tip-sample forces, dynamics of the cantilever motion is an extremely rich problem. Recent studies have shown that higher harmonics [...]

Scanning Probe Lithography on InAs Substrate

Houlet L.F., Yamaguchi H., Hirayama Y., NTT Basic Research Laboratories, NTT Corporation, JP

In this study, we focus our interest on patterning a conventional electron beam resist by electron field emission exposure using Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). We have fabricated 50-140 nm deep structures in InAs with the [...]