title: Sharp-Tip Silver Nanowires Mounted on Cantilevers for High-Aspect-Ratio High-Resolution Imaging.
abstract: Despite many efforts to fabricate high-aspect-ratio atomic force microscopy (HAR-AFM) probes for high-fidelity, high-resolution topographical imaging of three-dimensional (3D) nanostructured surfaces, current HAR probes still suffer from unsatisfactory performance, low wear-resistivity, and extravagant prices. The primary objective of this work is to demonstrate a novel design of a high-resolution (HR) HAR AFM probe, which is fabricated through a reliable, cost-efficient benchtop process to precisely implant a single ultrasharp metallic nanowire on a standard AFM cantilever probe. The force-displacement curve indicated that the HAR-HR probe is robust against buckling and bending up to 150 nN. The probes were tested on polymer trenches, showing a much better image fidelity when compared with standard silicon tips. The lateral resolution, when scanning a rough metal thin film and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SW-CNTs), was found to be better than 8 nm. Finally, stable imaging quality in tapping mode was demonstrated for at least 15 continuous scans indicating high resistance to wear. These results demonstrate a reliable benchtop fabrication technique toward metallic HAR-HR AFM probes with performance parallel or exceeding that of commercial HAR probes, yet at a fraction of their cost.
authors.forename: Xuezhi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Yangzhi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Sanggon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Qiushi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Byrley
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics, Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics, Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics, Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kaili
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics, Department of Physics and Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Center, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shoushan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Ruoxue
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: AFM; deep trench; high aspect ratio; high resolution; silver nanowires