Controlled electrosharpening of tungsten probes

Ultra-sharp tungsten probes are essential to a wide variety of applications in nanotechnology. In scanning probe microscopy, field emission microscopy, neurobiology and many other applications these tools provide a means of physically interacting with the nanoscopic world. A new technique for creating these probes has been developed to overcome current limitations in conventional drop-off methods - such as restricted aspect ratio, length and irreversibility during processing. A key advantage of this process is that it has been automated to allow the user to select the probe shape desired without resorting to manual or mechanical intervention. The probes are fabricated to tip radii in the order of 10nm over a range of lengths from 0.5 - 4.5 mm.