Microfabricated cantilever with metallic tip for electrostatic and capacitance microscopy and its application to investigation of semiconductor devices

The fabrication and performance of a microprobe with metal tip for versatile application in scanning probe microscopy is presented in this article. Atomic force microscopy, electrostatic force microscopy, and scanning capacitance microscopy investigations can be performed with this probe, which integrates the metal tip with a silicon spring cantilever. The cantilever beam with integrated metal tip and connecting line was microfabricated using an innovative double-side micromachining and micromolding technique, where of the microprobe has a metal tip with a radius of 40 nm, which can be supplied with voltage in order to measure electrostatic forces and capacitance between the microtip and the surface. The measurement properties of the microprobe are determined by the silicon beam on which the microtip is integrated. The developed microprobe was successfully applied in the investigation of electrostatic forces and in voltage measurements on a piezoresistive microelectromechanical system force detector. Experimental results of electrostatic force measurements agree well with theoretical estimates of the sensitivity of the microprobe. (C) 2004 American Vacuum Society.