NEW OPTICAL PROBES USING INP-BASED CANTILEVERS

Cantilevers made of III-V ternary compounds have been especially desig ned to obtain a spring constant in the classical range of 0.1 N/m. The y are successfully fabricated by epitaxial growth techniques on InP su bstrate and wet etching. The layer structure is intended to further co ntribute in a microoptoelectronic device. The cantilever is afterwards provided with a carbon supertip which is expected to play simultaneou sly both roles of an atomic force sensor and an optical near-field con verter. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.