Microfabricated resistive high-sensitivity nanoprobe for scanning thermal microscopy

In this article, a novel microfabricated thermoresistive scanning thermal microscopy probe is presented. It is a V-shaped silicon nitride cantilever with platinum lines and a sharp off-plane nanotip. The cantilever fabrication sequence incorporates standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology processes and therefore provides high reproducibility, while the tip is additionally processed by focused ion beam, enabling high-sensitivity and high-resolution thermal sensing. The nanoprobe is designed for scanning thermal microscopes, operating in standard atomic force microscope setup with an optical detection system. The measurement setup, which is also presented, takes advantage of the four-point design of the probe by inclusion of a Thomson bridge and a modified Wheatstone bridge measurement electronics. (C) 2010 American Vacuum Society. [DOI:10.1116/1.3502614]