Nanofabrication of sensors on cantilever probe tips for scanning multiprobe microscopy

A simple method for nanofabricating sensors on cantilever probe tips, used in atomic force microscopy (AFM), is described. The method uses voltage pulses to evaporate and create a nanometer-scale hole at the very end of a metallized AFM cantilever probe tip. The hole in the metal him can be used as a mask for further device fabrication. We demonstrate this by fabricating a nanothermocouple junction on the probe tip. Thermal images of electrically heated patterned metal lines obtained by this probe suggest the spatial resolution to be about 10 nm. Fabrication of nanosensors on probe tips is likely to assist in the future development of scanning multiprobe microscopy. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.