title: Field-directed sputter sharpening for tailored probe materials and atomic-scale lithography.
abstract: Fabrication of ultrasharp probes is of interest for many applications, including scanning probe microscopy and electron-stimulated patterning of surfaces. These techniques require reproducible ultrasharp metallic tips, yet the efficient and reproducible fabrication of these consumable items has remained an elusive goal. Here we describe a novel biased-probe field-directed sputter sharpening technique applicable to conductive materials, which produces nanometer and sub-nanometer sharp W, Pt-Ir and W-HfB(2) tips able to perform atomic-scale lithography on Si. Compared with traditional probes fabricated by etching or conventional sputter erosion, field-directed sputter sharpened probes have smaller radii and produce lithographic patterns 18-26% sharper with atomic-scale lithographic fidelity.
authors: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA. scott.schmucker@gmail.com
authors: S W
authors: SW
authors: Schmucker
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Kumar
authors: J R
authors: JR
authors: Abelson
authors: S R
authors: SR
authors: Daly
authors: G S
authors: GS
authors: Girolami
authors: M R
authors: MR
authors: Bischof
authors: D L
authors: DL
authors: Jaeger
authors: R F
authors: RF
authors: Reidy
authors: B P
authors: BP
authors: Gorman
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Alexander
authors: J B
authors: JB
authors: Ballard
authors: J N
authors: JN
authors: Randall
authors: J W
authors: JW
authors: Lyding