Scanning probe and electron microscope probes and their manufacture

A SPEM probe or batch of SPEM probes, wherein each SPEM probe comprises:

• a rod having a thickness in the range of 1 to 2000 μm, and comprising a single tip at one end;
• a probe tip that is substantially oxide free as characterized by having less than 5 nm of oxide as imaged by TEM;
• wherein the probe tip has:
• a cone angle of 5 to 45°;
• and a diameter of curvature of 1 to 35 nm;
• and further comprising a shape having at least one of the following morphologies:
• wherein a silhouette of the probe has a tip that can be described by a sphere with the diameter of curvature of the tip apex;
• wherein the silhouette has a longitudinal axis that corresponds to the longitudinal axis of the probe;
• and wherein two straight line segments of equal length can be drawn, each of which is tangent to this sphere, and intersect the silhouette at two points with one point on either side of the silhouette opposite the same length on the longitudinal axis of the probe, and wherein the thickness of the silhouette increases monotonically from the two tangent points to the two intersection points and the edge of the silhouette lies farther from the tip longitudinal axis than the two straight line segments at every point along the edge of the silhouette from the tip apex to each of the two intersection points, no matter what length straight line segments are chosen (or wherein the straight line segments are drawn to intersect the probe silhouette at 1 μm, or 100 nm, or 50 nm down the longitudinal axis of the probe from the tip apex);
• or
• wherein a silhouette of the probe conforms to a profile f(x) described by the functional form:
• f(x)=a0+a1x+a2x2+a3x3+b1x1/2+b2x1/3,
• where f(x) is the distance of the surface of the probe from the longitudinal axis of the probe, measured along a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the coefficients a0, a1, a2, a3, b1, b2 are real numbers, and x is the distance in nm that ranges from 0 to L, with 0 being the longitudinal axis position where the probe profile is tangent to the probe apex sphere, where a0 is in the range of 1 to 50 nm, where a1 is 0 or is in the range 0.2 to 4, where a2 is 0 or is in the range of 0.004 to 0.08 nm−1, where a3 is 0 or in the range of 0.00008 to 0.0016 nm2, where b1 is 0 or in the range of 1.4 to 28 nm1/2, and where b2 is 0 or in the range of 2.7 to 54 nm2/3;
• or
• a shape defined by two arcs of a circle, each arc being tangent to one of a pair of opposing parallel sides of a cylindrical wire body wherein the two arcs are defined by a circle having a radius equal to between 1 and 20 times (in some embodiments between 5 and 7 times) the wire body diameter D, and wherein the two arcs meet at the tip apex;
• or
• a biconic shape wherein, with reference to FIG. 9, L2>L1;
• L1/L is in the range of 0.05 to 0.4 or 0.1 to 0.3;
• ϕ1/ϕ2 is in the range of 1.1 to 2.0, or 1.2 to 1.8, or 1.1 to 1.3;
• R1 is in the range of 10 to 1 μm or 20 to 200 nm;
• and L is in the range of 30 nm to 1 μm or 50 nm to 500 nm, or 50 nm to 100 nm;
• and R2 is in the range 1 to 2000 μm, or 250 to 1000 μm;
• or
• a shape defined by a power series wherein, with reference to FIG. 10, the shape is within the area encompassed by rotating a curve y=R(x/L)n about an x-axis defining the longitudinal probe axis, where n is in the range of 0.6 to 0.9 or 0.7 to 0.8;
• or
• a shape defined by a Haack series wherein, with reference, to FIG. 11, where y=[R(θ−½ sin 2θ+C sin3 θ)1/2]/π1/2;
• where θ=arccos(1−2x/L);
• where C is in the range of 0.00 to 0.667 or 0.0 to 0.3.