Surface roughness measurement on microchannels by atomic force microscopy using a bent tapered fiber probe

We demonstrate a high-resolution and nondestructive surface roughness measurement on microchannels by atomic force microscopy with the use of a bent tapered optical fiber probe. The probe was fabricated by a combination of laser heating-pulling and electric arc bending. Microchannels with a width of 41.5 μm and a height of 31.9 μm were fabricated on polycarbonate by excimer laser ablation and the resultant roughness was measured to be 4.8 nm.