Force nano-lithography on various surfaces by atomic force microscope

The atomic force microscope (AFM) has become an increasing popular tool for characterizing and manipulating surfaces and thin films of many different types of materials. In this work, nano–lithography on surface of different substrates were studied by atomic force microscope. The scratches on poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) coated on silicon and glass, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and polyethylene (PE) were made using contact mode and silicon and diamond tips. The normal force between the tips and the desired samples was estimated from cantilever deflection curve plotted against Z-displacement of the cantilever. This curve was converted to Force- Distance curve by using Hook’s law. Effects of applied normal force on the geometry and depth of the scratches were studied. This study shows that there is a critical tip force to remove material from various surfaces.

کلیدواژه ها:

Nano-lithography ، Nano-patterning ، force lithography ، Atomic Force Microscopy ، scanning probe lithography