Fabrication of microtips on planar specimens

Microtips were formed on planar samples using 3 and 6 μm diamond particles as masks for ion beam sputtering at normal incidence. Samples of copper, 304 stainless steel, a metal-oxide-semiconductor structure and a BiSrCaCuO superconductor were studied. It was found that tips could be formed from all materials examined. The tips were many microns tall with a radius of curvature at the apex of less than 100 nm and shank angles down to ∼ 20°. The use of carbon contamination spikes grown in a scanning electron microscope as specific-location masks is considered.