Thermal writing using a heated atomic force microscope tip

Abstract

Resistive heating of an atomic force microscope tip was used to perform thermally induced surface modifications. Heating was achieved by dissipating power in the legs of an electrically conducting silicon cantilever. Temperatures of up to 170 °C were obtained using 40 mW of input power. Electrical measurements used to monitor the temperature showed thermal time constants of 0.35–0.45 ms, depending on whether the tip was in contact with a substrate. The heated tip was used to demonstrate thermomechanical writing on a polycarbonate substrate, as well as thermal writing of an optical phase change material.