A novel fabrication process for ultra-sharp, high-aspect ratio nano tips using (111) single crystalline silicon

Abstract

This paper presents a novel fabrication process for ultra-sharp nano tips on cantilevers with the radius of curvature of less than 10 nm using an (111) single crystalline silicon wafer. The nano tip height 15 /spl mu/m, and the aspect ratio is greater than 3:1. The cone angle of the tip is 19.5/spl deg/. Fabrication process is based on newly obtained etch characteristic data on silicon (111) and the sacrificial bulk micromachining (SBM) technology. The developed fabrication process is simple and robust, and well suited for ultra-sharp, high-aspect ratio nano tips on cantilevers.