Scanning probe and electron microscope probes and their manufacture
AssigneeTiptek, LLC
InventorsJoseph W. Lyding, Gregory S. Girolami, Scott P. Lockledge, Jinju Lee
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Abstract
Methods are described for the economical manufacture of Scanning Probe and Electron Microscope (SPEM) probe tips. In this method, multiple wires are mounted on a stage and ion milled simultaneously while the stage and mounted probes are tilted at a selected angle relative to the ion source and rotated. The resulting probes are also described. The method provides sets of highly uniform probe tips having controllable properties for stable and accurate scanning probe and electron microscope (EM) measurements.
Claims17
A SPEM probe or batch of SPEM probes, wherein each SPEM probe comprises:
- a cylindrical rod comprising tungsten having a rod diameter in the range of 1 to 2000 μm, and comprising a single tip at one end;
- wherein the single tip was formed by milling with an ion beam comprising nitrogen;
- wherein the tip is substantially oxide free as characterizable by having less than 5 nm of oxide thickness as imaged by TEM;
- wherein the tip has:
- a cone angle of 5 to 45°;
- and a diameter of curvature of 1 to 35 nm.
A batch of SPEM probes mounted on a stage wherein each SPEM probe comprises:
- a cylindrical rod comprising tungsten having a rod diameter in the range of 1 to 2000 μm, and comprising a single tip at one end;
- wherein the single tip was formed by milling with an ion beam comprising nitrogen;
- wherein the tip is substantially oxide free as characterizable by having less than 5 nm of oxide thickness as imaged by TEM;
- wherein the tip has:
- a cone angle of 5 to 45°;
- and a diameter of curvature of 1 to 35 nm.
A SPEM probe or batch of SPEM probes, wherein each SPEM probe comprises:
- a cylindrical rod comprising tungsten having a rod diameter in the range of 1 to 2000 μm, and comprising a single tip at one end;
- wherein the single tip was formed by milling with an ion beam comprising nitrogen;
- wherein the tip is substantially oxide free as characterizable by having less than 5 nm of oxide thickness as imaged by TEM;
- wherein the tip has:
- a cone angle of 5 to 45°;
- and a diameter of curvature of 1 to 35 nm;
- and
- wherein the SPEM probe or batch of SPEM probes comprise a coating of HfB2.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.