State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 110016, Shenyang, P. R. China.
Institutes for Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 110169, Shenyang, P. R. China.
Small Methods. 2023 Jul;7(7):e2300235. doi: 10.1002/smtd.202300235. Epub 2023 Apr 19.
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been adopted in both industry and academia for high-fidelity, full-profile topographic characterization. Typically, the tiny tip of the cantilever and the limited traveling range of the scanner restrict AFM measurement to relatively flat samples (recommend 1 µm). The primary objective of this work is to address these limitations using a large-range AFM (measuring height >10 µm) system consisting of a novel repairable high aspect ratio probe (HARP) with a nested-proportional-integral-derivative (nested-PID) AFM system. The HARP is fabricated using a reliable, cost-efficient bench-top process. The tip is then fused by pulling the end of the micropipette cantilever with a length up to hundreds of micrometers and a tip diameter of 30 nm. The design, simulation, fabrication, and performance of the HARP are described herein. This instrument is then tested using polymer trenches which reveals superior image fidelity compared to standard silicon tips. Finally, a nested-PID system is developed and employed to facilitate 3D characterization of 50-µm-step samples. The results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed bench-top technique for the fabrication of low-cost, simple HAR AFM probes that facilitate the imaging of samples with deep trenches.
原子力显微镜（AFM）已在工业和学术界中被采用，用于进行高保真度、全轮廓形貌特征描述。通常，悬臂的微小尖端和扫描器的有限行程限制了 AFM 测量适用于相对平坦的样品（推荐 1 µm）。这项工作的主要目标是使用由新型可修复高纵横比探头（HARP）和嵌套比例积分微分（nested-PID）AFM 系统组成的大行程 AFM（测量高度>10 µm）系统来解决这些限制。HARP 使用可靠、经济高效的台式工艺制造。然后通过拉动微管悬臂的末端来融合尖端，长度可达数百微米，尖端直径为 30 nm。本文介绍了 HARP 的设计、模拟、制造和性能。然后使用聚合物沟槽对该仪器进行了测试，与标准硅尖端相比，其图像保真度更高。最后，开发并采用嵌套 PID 系统来促进 50 µm 步长样品的 3D 特征描述。结果表明，所提出的台式技术可用于制造低成本、简单的 HAR AFM 探头，从而便于对具有深沟槽的样品进行成像。
