Abstract
The application of self-excitation is proposed to improve the efficiency of the nanoscale cutting procedure based on use of a microcantilever in atomic force microscopy. The microcantilever shape is redesigned so that it can be used to produce vibration amplitudes with sufficient magnitudes to enable the excitation force applied by an actuator to be transferred efficiently to the tip of the microcantilever for the cutting process. A diamond abrasive that is set on the tip is also fabricated using a focused ion beam technique to improve the cutting effect. The natural frequency of the microcantilever is modulated based on the pressing load. Under conventional external excitation conditions, to maintain the microcantilever in its resonant state, it is necessary to vary the excitation frequency in accordance with the modulation. In this study, rather than using external excitation, the self-excitation cutting method is proposed to overcome this difficulty. The self-excited oscillation is produced by appropriate setting of the phase difference between the deflection signal of the microcantilever and the feedback signal for the actuator. In addition, it is demonstrated experimentally that the change in the phase difference enables us to control the amplitude of the self-excitation. As a result, control of the cutting depth is achieved via changes in the phase difference.
Highlights
The application of self-excitation is proposed to improve the efficiency of the nanoscale cutting procedure based on use of a microcantilever in atomic force microscopy
Atomic force microscopy (AFM)[13], which has been used for nanoscale imaging of surfaces, has been used as a force control system for nanomachining to cut hole of approximately 10 nm depth in single-crystal silicon[14]
Because the natural frequency of the microcantilever is modulated based on the different pressing loads applied, the microcantilever cannot be maintained in the resonant state at a constant excitation frequency under external excitation
Summary
The application of self-excitation is proposed to improve the efficiency of the nanoscale cutting procedure based on use of a microcantilever in atomic force microscopy. Because the natural frequency of the microcantilever is modulated based on the different pressing loads applied, the microcantilever cannot be maintained in the resonant state at a constant excitation frequency under external excitation To overcome this difficulty, a new vibrational cutting method is proposed that uses a self-excited microcantilever. The proposed nanoscale cutting using a self-excited microcantilever can be expected to improve the accuracy of the measurement for the 3D characterization of the mechanical response of the sample surface in Tomographic AFM20 by controlling the amplitude of the microcantilever by phase modulation in air and improve the limit of Scalpel AFM21 by causing a deformation in appropriate depth under a constant light pressing load. There are other beneficial functions such as controlling the coefficient of friction[22], modifying the optical properties[23] and adjusting the surface w ettability[24]
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