Conductive probes for electrical AFM measurements

Atsushi Ando¹, Tetsuo Shimizu², Yoshikazu Nakayama³ and Hiroshi Tokumoto²

(1) National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan
(2) Joint Research Center for Atom Technology, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan
(3) Department of Physics and Electronics, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531, Japan

A conducting-AFM is one of powerful tools to characterize local electrical properties on a nanometer scale. In this technique, a conductive probe is a crucial part. The probe needs to be well conductive (metallic), strong against mechanical stress, and passive in chemical reaction. In this talk, we evaluate the performance of conductive probes for electrical AFM measurements. Three classes of probes are investigated: metal (Au, Pt, Os, Ti) coated Si cantilevers, diamond-coated Si cantilevers and CNT probes prepared by attaching a MWNT to metal-coated Si cantilever. The mechanical and electrical characterizations of the probes and their use for a conducting-AFM measurement on ultrathin SiO2/Si(001) are reported.