scholarly journals An atomic force microscope integrated with a helium ion microscope for correlative nanoscale characterization

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 1272-1279
Author(s):  
Santiago H Andany ◽  
Gregor Hlawacek ◽  
Stefan Hummel ◽  
Charlène Brillard ◽  
Mustafa Kangül ◽  
...  

In this work, we report on the integration of an atomic force microscope (AFM) into a helium ion microscope (HIM). The HIM is a powerful instrument, capable of imaging and machining of nanoscale structures with sub-nanometer resolution, while the AFM is a well-established versatile tool for multiparametric nanoscale characterization. Combining the two techniques opens the way for unprecedented in situ correlative analysis at the nanoscale. Nanomachining and analysis can be performed without contamination of the sample and environmental changes between processing steps. The practicality of the resulting tool lies in the complementarity of the two techniques. The AFM offers not only true 3D topography maps, something the HIM can only provide in an indirect way, but also allows for nanomechanical property mapping, as well as for electrical and magnetic characterization of the sample after focused ion beam materials modification with the HIM. The experimental setup is described and evaluated through a series of correlative experiments, demonstrating the feasibility of the integration.

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 768-775 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rinaldi ◽  
P. Peralta ◽  
C. Friesen ◽  
N. Chawla ◽  
E. Traversa ◽  
...  

This article presents an experimental procedure to perform highly localized compression tests on nanoscale structures/features, such as nanospheres and nanopillars, via standard nanoindentation equipment. Current manufacturing capabilities, such as focused ion beam (FIB), lend themselves well to the creation of micron-spaced nanostructures, but it is fundamental to target an individual instance with little or no damage to the surrounding ones. The procedure successfully addresses the problem of locating and testing purposely designed nanostructures of order of 50 nm or less. The technique is illustrated for the case of closely spaced arrays of nanopillars, which were successfully manufactured, characterized, and tested through several pieces of equipment. For the purposes of compression, along with a traditional Berkovich tip, a new multifunctional (MF) tip was devised. This last tip is endowed with a complex contact geometry enabling both atomic force microscope (AFM) scanning and flat punch compression of the nanostructure. The levels of accuracy in tip positioning as well as robustness to alignment errors are unprecedented in comparison with previous in situ compression tests. As a consequence, the MF tip becomes a versatile tool that can be used beyond uniform compression. As an example, ancillary shear tests in controlled conditions are reported. Such results may lay the bases for metal-forming processes at the nanoscale, such as nanoforging or cutting operations, which are relevant to MEMS design and manufacturing.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Anna Elizabeth Pittman

In my projects, I used the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) to image the effects of pore-forming peptides and I used the Focused Ion Beam (FIB) to modify AFM cantilevers to increase the precision of force spectroscopy measurements. ... Another way to investigate peptide-lipid interactions is to perform force spectroscopy experiments using the AFM. In order to lower drift and increase force precision, I used a FIB to modify commercially available AFM cantilevers. By reducing the cross sectional area of the cantilever, the hydrodynamic drag was reduced, thus increasing the force precision. Removing most of the gold coating on the cantilever increased the temporal stability. These modified cantilevers have already been put to use in the lab to measure peptide-lipid interactions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2086 (1) ◽  
pp. 012204
Author(s):  
D J Rodriguez ◽  
A V Kotosonova ◽  
H A Ballouk ◽  
N A Shandyba ◽  
O I Osotova ◽  
...  

Abstract In this work, we carried out an investigation of commercial atomic force microscope (AFM) probes for contact and semi-contact modes, which were modified by focused ion beam (FIB). This method was used to modify the original tip shape of silicon AFM probes, by ion-etching and ion-enhance gas deposition. we show a better performance of the FIB-modified probes in contrast with the non-modified commercial probes. These results were obtained after using both probes in semi-contact mode in a calibration grating sample.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith A. Brown ◽  
Robert M. Westervelt

ABSTRACTHerein, we detail the fabrication of atomic force microscope (AFM) probes that have two and three coaxial electrodes at their tips. This fabrication strategy leverages the availability of conductive AFM probes and encompasses a general method for processing their complex and delicate structure through the deposition of insulating and conductive layers by shadow masked chemical and physical vapor deposition, respectively. Focused ion beam milling is used to expose the two electrode (coaxial) or three electrode (triaxial) structures at the tip of the AFM probe. Finally, we discuss new imaging modalities enabled by these probes including electrically-driven contact resonance imaging for nanoscale mechanical characterization, imaging the local dielectric constant by quantifying the dielectrophoretic force, and trapping functional particles at the tip of a probe using dielectrophoresis. These imaging techniques illustrate the generality and utility of this fabrication approach and suggest that such probes could be widely applied to image many nanoscale materials.


2007 ◽  
Vol 1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Chow ◽  
Guangyu Chai

AbstractFocused ion beam (FIB) techniques have found many applications in nanoscience and nanotechnology applications in recent years. However, not much work has been done using FIB to fabricate carbon nanotube devices. This is mainly due to the fact that carbon nanotubes are very fragile and energetic ion beam from FIB can easily damage the carbon nanotubes. Here we report the fabrication of carbon nanotube (CNT) devices, including electron field emitters, atomic force microscope tips, and nano-pores for biomedical applications. This is made possible by a unique, coaxial configuration consisting of a CNT embedded in a graphitic carbon coating, which was developed by us for FIB processing of carbon nanotubes. The CNT-based atomic force microscope tip has been demonstrated. The electron field emission from the tip and the side wall of CNT will be discussed. We will also report the fabrication of a multiwall carbon nanotube nanopore for future applications.


Micromachines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 527
Author(s):  
Alex Belianinov ◽  
Matthew J. Burch ◽  
Anton Ievlev ◽  
Songkil Kim ◽  
Michael G. Stanford ◽  
...  

The next generation optical, electronic, biological, and sensing devices as well as platforms will inevitably extend their architecture into the 3rd dimension to enhance functionality. In focused ion beam induced deposition (FIBID), a helium gas field ion source can be used with an organometallic precursor gas to fabricate nanoscale structures in 3D with high-precision and smaller critical dimensions than focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID), traditional liquid metal source FIBID, or other additive manufacturing technology. In this work, we report the effect of beam current, dwell time, and pixel pitch on the resultant segment and angle growth for nanoscale 3D mesh objects. We note subtle beam heating effects, which impact the segment angle and the feature size. Additionally, we investigate the competition of material deposition and sputtering during the 3D FIBID process, with helium ion microscopy experiments and Monte Carlo simulations. Our results show complex 3D mesh structures measuring ~300 nm in the largest dimension, with individual features as small as 16 nm at full width half maximum (FWHM). These assemblies can be completed in minutes, with the underlying fabrication technology compatible with existing lithographic techniques, suggesting a higher-throughput pathway to integrating FIBID with established nanofabrication techniques.


2000 ◽  
Vol 655 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Ganpule ◽  
A. L. Roytburd ◽  
V. Nagarajan ◽  
A. Stanishevsky ◽  
J. Melngailis ◽  
...  

AbstractFocused ion beam milling was used to fabricate ferroelectric islands in Pb-Zr-Ti-O thin films. The islands ranged in size from 200μm×200μm to 0.3μm×0.3μm. The inverse piezoelectric effect was studied in these islands as a function of their size by tracking the surface displacement of the top electrode of the island (under an applied electric field) using an atomic force microscope (AFM). It was found that there was a substantial increase in the piezoresponse as the size of the island decreased below 100μm×100μm. This increase was attributed to the elastic deformation of the substrate.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document