Spring-On-Tip Nanolithography Probes

This paper reports a new scanning nanolithography probe with spring-on-tip design. Conventional scanning probes consist of cantilevers with tips at distal ends. The cantilevers provide necessary spring softness for the tips. Unlike traditional pyramidal-shaped scanning tips with solid faces, the sidewalls of the new reported tips are modified to contain folded spring structures to reduce the overall force constants of the scanning probes. We used nano-resolution focused ion beam milling to modify micrometer-sized solid faces of traditional tips. This allows greater tip integration density while achieving low force constants. Designs are optimized using finite element simulation. We also demonstrated sub-100-nm scanning probe lithography using such nanolithography probes.