title: In situ metal tip sharpening of scanning probe microscopes.
abstract: This article demonstrated a new approach for fabrication and sharpening of metal tips of scanning probe microscopes. Experimentally, a metal tip was heated and melted by a focused laser light. The tip was then sharpened by a strong electric field and consolidated as the laser was turned off. With a low-vacuum and a high-voltage source, a 25-µm indium-coated platinum wire was sharpened to a tip with diameters below 50 nm. The minimal tip radius by this method is estimated to be below 1 nm. With this technique, in situ tip sharpening for SPM would be possible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Wenlong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Huiliang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Changdong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Nakul
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Butta
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Philip R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Hemmer