A Si nanopillar grown on a Si tip by atomic force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum for a high-quality scanning probe

Abstract

We grow a Si nanopillar on a commercial Si tip on an atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilever using AFM in ultrahigh vacuum for a high-quality scanning force probe, and observe noncontact-AFM (nc-AFM) images of Si(111)7×7 and Ge deposited Si(111) with the nanopillar. We observe it ex situ by transmission electron microscopy to confirm its growth and crystallinity. The nc-AFM image clearly showed the high performance of the nanopillar as a probe with respect to the spatial resolution, image stability, and reproducibility. This nanopillar growth technique can elongate the lifetime of the cantilever and be applied to other materials.