title: Oxide nanocrystal based nanocomposites for fabricating photoplastic AFM probes.
abstract: We report on the synthesis, characterization and application of a novel nanocomposite made of a negative tone epoxy based photoresist modified with organic-capped Fe(2)O(3) nanocrystals (NCs). The mechanical properties of the nanocomposite drastically improve upon incorporation of a suitable concentration of NCs in the polymer, without deteriorating its photolithography performance. High aspect ratio 3D microstructures made of the nanocomposite have been fabricated with a uniform surface morphology and with a resolution down to few micrometres. The embedded organic-capped Fe(2)O(3) NCs drastically increase the stiffness and hardness of the epoxy based photoresist matrix, making the final material extremely interesting for manufacturing miniaturized polymer based mechanical devices and systems. In particular, the nanocomposite has been used as structural material for fabricating photoplastic Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) probes with integrated tips showing outstanding mechanical response and high resolution imaging performance. The fabricated probes consist of straight cantilevers with low stress-gradient and high quality factors, incorporating sharp polymeric tips. They present considerably improved performance compared to pure epoxy based photoresist AFM probes, and to commercial silicon AFM probes.
authors.affiliation: CNR-IPCF Sez. Bari c/o Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Bari, via Orabona 4, Bari, 70126, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ingrosso
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martin-Olmos
authors.forename: Andreu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Llobera
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Innocenti
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sangregorio
authors.forename: Marinella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Striccoli
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agostiano
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Voigt
authors.forename: Gabi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gruetzner
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brugger
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perez-Murano
authors.forename: Maria Lucia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Curri
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008422:Materials Testing; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000295:instrumentation*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010316:Particle Size; D010969:Plastics / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D005290:Ferric Compounds; D010969:Plastics; C000499:ferric oxide