Properties and applications of carbon nanofibers for atomic force microscopy

Scanning probe techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning probe lithography are powerful methods for the investigation and modification of surfaces at the nanometer scale. In these techniques, the tip curvature radius and aspect ratio of the probe play a crucial role. Here, we employ carbon nanofiber (CNF) as the tip apex of AFM probes. We show that CNF-AFM probes provide good performance in terms of both resolution and reliability when operating the AFM in dynamic mode. In addition, the CNF apex is responsible for an enhancement of the field-induced chemical reaction in a specific form of scanning probe lithography, local anodic oxidation (LAO), which allows the fabrication of silicon oxide (SiOx) patterns with sub-10 nm resolution.