Focused ion beam-assisted fabrication of soft high-aspect ratio silicon nanowire atomic force microscopy probes

Abstract In this study, high-aspect ratio silicon nanowire (SiNW) – modified atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes are fabricated using focused ion beam (FIB) microfabrication technology and vapor-solid-solid synthesis. Commercially available soft silicon nitride probes are used for localized nanowire growth yielding soft high-aspect ratio AFM probes. The SiNW-modified cantilevers are used here for imaging in PeakForce Tapping (PFT) mode, which offers high force control along with valuable information about tip-sample adhesion. A platinum catalyst, deposited accurately at a truncated AFM tip by ion beam-induced deposition (IBID), was used for localized nanowire synthesis. It could be shown that the deposition of a thin silicon dioxide layer prior to the catalyst deposition resulted in controlled SiNW growth on silicon as well as silicon nitride probes. In addition, a FIB-based method for post-growth alignment of the fabricated SiNW tips is presented, which allows tilt-compensation specifically tailored to the specifications of the used AFM instrumentation. To demonstrate the capability of such soft, high-aspect ratio AFM probes, optical gratings fabricated in GaAs and silver halide fibers were imaged in PFT mode. Additionally, the mechanical stability of these high-aspect AFM probes was evaluated on a sapphire substrate.