A Simple Method for Fabrication of Self‐sharpened Silicon Tips for Atomic Force Microscopy Applications

Abstract

AbstractA simple and high yield method is presented for the bulk generation of atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes with self‐sharpened silicon tips. The experimental setup includes a controlled chemical etching environment at a constant temperature with continuous recirculation and filtration. A KOH solution is considered cost‐effective as the etchant and stabilized to the required concentration (55%, v/v) and temperature (40 °C), so as to provide an etch rate of 40 nm min−1 and yield a smooth etch profile. A high density of silicon tips is fabricated, with yield up to 90%, and a consistent tip radius of ≈12.73 ± 1.51 nm. These tips can be successfully integrated with AFM cantilevers, resulting in AFM probes. Further, such AFM‐probes are well characterized using laser Doppler vibrometry and scanning electron microscopy. The result shows a resonance frequency of 1.2–1.4 MHz and a high‐quality factor of ≈708.8. In addition, the AFM probes produced images are comparable in quality to those obtained from commercially available probes.