Evaluation of thermal evaporation conditions used in coating aluminum on near-field fiber-optic probes

The effects that the thermal evaporation conditions have on the roughness of aluminum-coated near-field fiber-optic probes were investigated using the high-resolution capabilities of atomic force microscopy. The coating conditions studied include the effects of background gas composition, base vacuum pressure, and aluminum evaporation rate. The effects of aging on the aluminum-coated tips were also evaluated, The results from topography measurements of the resulting aluminum film indicated that the most dramatic improvements in the tip coatings can be achieved using high aluminum evaporation rates at base vacuum pressures below 10(-5) Torr. These results agree with other studies on thin aluminum films and reflect a decrease in oxide formation. For demanding applications of near-field microscopy requiring maximal resolution, the results presented here indicate that it may also be necessary to reduce oxygen and/or water from the vacuum chamber prior to coating. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(98)01104-6].