Focused electron-beam-induced deposition for fabrication of highly durable and sensitive metallic AFM-IR probes

Authors

Wen Qian, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Shuo Sun, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jingfeng Song, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Charles Nguyen, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Stephen Ducharme, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Joesph A. Turner, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

Wen Qian https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5813-7817

Charles Nguyen https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7649-8384

Date of this Version

2018

Citation

Published in Nanotechnology 29 (2018) 335702 (7pp)

doi:10.1088/1361-6528/aac73c

Comments

Copyright © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd. Used by permission.

Abstract

We report on the fabrication of metallic, ultra-sharp atomic force microscope tips for localized nanoscale infrared (IR) spectrum measurements by using focused electron-beam-induced deposition of platinum or tungsten. The tip length can be controlled by changing the duration time of the electron beam. Probes of 12.0 ± 5.0 nm radius-of-curvature can be routinely produced with high repeatability and near-100% yield. The near-field-enhancement appears stronger at the extremity of the metallic tip, compared with commercial pristine silicon-nitride probe tip. Finally, the performance of the modified metallic tips is demonstrated by imaging PVDF and PMMA thin films, which shows that spatial resolution is greatly enhanced. In addition, the signal intensity of the localized nanoscale IR spectrum is increased offering greater sensitivity for chemical IR imaging.