Fabrication and characterisation of piezoelectric microcantilever probe

This Letter focuses on the piezoelectric microcantilever probe fabrication processes. The sensing layer was lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films, prepared by sol-gel process, and formed on the Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si (100) substrate. The silicon-based microcantilever probe fabrication process is based on the microelectromechanical system technology. The compatible processes make the PZT thin films successfully fabricated on the silicon-based microcantilever. The size of piezoelectric cantilever is 450 m in length, 70 m in width and 12 m in thickness. The spring constant of the cantilever probe is 41.28 N/m measured by the micro-force testing system. The first resonance frequency of the cantilever probe is 43.78 KHz. The low leakage current of the PZT thin films is 0.265 nA with the applied voltage of 1 V. The results reveal that the piezoelectric cantilever probe can be substituted for the traditional atomic force microscopy probe.