Integrating Carbon Nanotubes For Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging Applications
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Integrating Carbon Nanotubes For Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging Applications Qi Ye*,1,2, Alan M. Cassell1,2, Hongbing Liu2, Jie Han1,2, and Meyya Meyyappan1 1 Center for Nanotechnology, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035, U.S.A. 2 Integrated Nanosystems, Inc., NASA Research Park, Moffett Field, California 94035, U.S.A. * Corresponding author: [email protected] ABSTRACT Carbon nanotube (CNT) related nanostructures possess remarkable electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties. To produce these nanostructures for real world applications, a large-scale controlled growth of carbon nanotubes is crucial for the integration and fabrication of nanodevices and nanosensors. We have taken the approach of integrating nanopatterning and nanomaterials synthesis with traditional silicon microfabrication techniques. This integration requires a catalyst or nanomaterial protection scheme. In this paper, we report our recent work on fabricating wafer-scale carbon nanotube AFM cantilever probe tips. We will address the design and fabrication considerations in detail, and present the preliminary scanning probe test results. This work may serve as an example of rational design, fabrication, and integration of nanomaterials for advanced nanodevice and nanosensor applications. INTRODUCTION Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely studied in recent years [1]. Due to their remarkable electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties, CNTs become very attractive in a wide variety of applications in sensors, microelectronics, field emitters, and nanodevices, etc. [15]. However, a great challenge of CNTs in their applications relies on the integration of these nano-scale materials with micron scale structures to form workable devices and sensors. Although there are numerous scientific papers revealing the structures and properties of these nanomaterials, not much research and development work have been conducted to address the issue of nanomaterials integration for nanodevice and nanosensor fabrications and applications. To move nanoscience and nanotechnology forward, we aim to develop an innovative methodology for the reliable integration of nanoscale materials with CMOS microfabrication technologies for making nanodevices and nanosensors at wafer-scale. Our methodology includes four major steps: (1) Catalyst nanopatterning at wafer-scale; (2) Integration of nanopatterning with traditional microfabrication of silicon devices; (3) Reliable electric field enhanced chemical vapor deposition for vertical CNT growth; and (4) CNT-based devices performance evaluation and testing. In this paper, we describe a detailed wafer-scale fabrication process for making CNT AFM probe tips that are used for tapping-mode imaging applications. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS (1) Catalyst nanopatterning at wafer-scale In order to solve the problems that exist with conventional CNT based imaging probes, we have developed a scanning probe in which the CNT tip is directly grown from the silicon
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cantilever, not manually attached or r
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