Rugged, single crystal wide-band-gap-material scanning-tunneling-microscopy/lithography tips
AssigneeUNM Rainforest Innovations
InventorsSteven R.J. BRUECK, Daniel FEEZELL, John RANDALL, Tito BUSANI, Joshua B. BALLARD, Mahmoud BEHZADIRAD, Ashwin Krishnan RISHINARAMANGALAM
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided is a composite metal-wide-bandgap semiconductor tip for scanning tunneling microscopy and/or scanning tunneling lithography, a method of forming, and a method for using the composite metal-wide-bandgap semiconductor tip.
Claims18
A method of forming a composite tip for a scanning tunneling microscope (“STM”), comprising:
- using a nanomanipulator to select a single crystal wide-band-gap semiconductor from an array of formed single crystal wide-band-gap semiconductors epitaxially grown selectively on a crystalline substrate;
- preparing an electrically conductive wire to provide a substantially flat end surface that is substantially perpendicular to the wire length direction;
- transferring the single crystal wide-band-gap semiconductor from the growth substrate to the substantially flat end surface of the electrically conductive wire;
- and
- affixing the single crystal wide-band-gap semiconductor to the substantially flat end surface of the electrically conductive wire to form the composite tip.
A method of forming an array of composite tips for use in scanning tunneling microscopy, comprising:
- preparing an array of scanning tunneling microscope tip precursors on a crystalline substrate;
- providing an area for selective area growth of a wide bandgap semiconducting material on each tip precursor;
- growing a III-N wide bandgap material nanowire on each selective growth area wherein the nanowire has a faceted diameter of about 0.1 to 0.5 μm, a tip radius of about or less than about 2 nm, and with a controlled doping to provide a resistivity of about 10−2 Ohm-cm;
- separating the array of scanning tunneling tip precursors into subarrays wherein each subarray contains at least one scanning tunneling tip;
- and
- mounting the at least one of the subarrays of scanning tunneling microscope tip precursors for use in a scanning tunneling microscope.
A method of forming a composite tip for a scanning tunneling microscope (“STM”), comprising:
- using a nanomanipulator to select a single crystal wide-band-gap semiconductor from an array of formed single crystal wide-band-gap semiconductors epitaxially grown selectively on a crystalline substrate;
- preparing an electrically conductive wire to provide a substantially flat end surface that is substantially perpendicular to the wire length direction;
- transferring the single crystal wide-band-gap semiconductor from the growth substrate to the substantially flat end surface of the electrically conductive wire;
- and
- affixing the single crystal wide-band-gap semiconductor to the substantially flat end surface of the electrically conductive wire to form the composite tip,
- wherein the electrically conductive wire comprises a substantially cylindrical body and a distal end tapered to a diameter larger than the single crystal wide-band-gap semiconductor and terminated with a flat surface that is approximately perpendicular to a transverse axis of the electrically conductive wire.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.