MICROMACHINED APERTURE PROBE TIP FOR MULTIFUNCTIONAL SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPY

The paper presents a new concept of a micromachined integrated sensor for combined atomic force/near-field optical microscopy. The sensor co nsists of a microfabricated cantilever with an integrated waveguide an d a transparent near-field aperture rip. The advantage compared to the fiber-based near-field tips is the high reproducibility of the apertu re and the control of the tip-sample distance by the AFM-channel. The aperture tip is fabricated in a reliable batch process which has the p otential for implementation in micromachining processes of scanning pr obe microscopy sensors and therefore leads to new types of multifuncti onal probes. For evaluation purposes. the tip was attached to an optic al fiber by a microassembly setup and subsequently installed in a near -field scanning optical microscope. First measurements of topographica l and optical near-field patterns demonstrate the proper performance o f the hybrid probe. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .