A micro-SPM head array with exchangeable cantilevers

In this paper a MEMS based micro-SPM head array is proposed to enhance the performance of the currently available nano-measuring machines and effectively reduce the measurement time for large specimen. It consists of 1 × N ( N = 7 in our case) micro-SPM heads/units, realized in one chip by MEMS technique. And it can be easily extended to a micro- SPM head matrix. The main part of the micro-SPM head is the MEMS-positioning stage, which is realized on the basis of an electrostatic lateral comb-drive actuator. In order to take the advantage of the high lateral resolution of conventional cantilevers, a flexible cantilever gripper was designed to be integrated into the MEMS-positioning stage within the SPM head. Conventional cantilevers can be mechanically mounted onto the MEMS-positioning stage or dismantled from the MEMS-positioning stage after the tip is worn out. In this way, the well-designed and calibrated MEMS-positioning stage can be repeatedly and efficiently utilized. The structure design and simulation of mechanical and electrical performances of the mico-SPM head will be detailed in this paper. First experimental results proved the feasibility of the cantilever gripper design.