Integration of sharp silicon nitride tips into high-speed SU8 cantilevers in a batch fabrication process

• Nahid Hosseini,
• Matthias Neuenschwander,
• Oliver Peric,
• Santiago H. Andany,
• Jonathan D. Adams and
• Georg E. Fantner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2357–2363, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.226

• any photo-processable polymer cantilever. Keywords: Atomic force microscopy (AFM); durability; imaging speed; polymer cantilever; silicon nitride tip; Introduction Atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilevers have been developed for numerous applications since the invention of scanning probe microscopy

• amplitude modulation AFM (HS-AM-AFM) enhanced by up to one order of magnitude due to their low mechanical quality factor (Q-factor) and hence their high mechanical bandwidth [23]. A tip made of SU8 or other structural polymers can be integrated into a polymer cantilever by moulding. Such tips have been

• made of SU8 to benefit from the ease of fabrication and the high-speed imaging capability of cantilevers made of this polymer, while oxide-sharpened silicon nitride tips provide tip sharpness and tip wear-resistance. The tip is anchored securely by being partially embedded in the polymer cantilever