Air-bearing sliders and plane-plane-concave tips for atomic force microscope cantilevers

This paper explores strategies for fabricating and maintaining a sharp atom ic force microscope (AFM) tip suitable for AFM data storage applications. T o this end, AFM cantilevers have been incorporated into micromachined sled carriers and air-bearing sliders. These supports act to limit the maximum l oading force on the AFM tip and allow for improved vibration immunity for t he AFM cantilever in comparison to macroscopic loading schemes. Readback fr om a patterned rotating disk has been demonstrated using these devices, Sil icon-carbide AFM cantilevers with diamond tips have been fabricated in a pr ocess compatible with that of the sleds and sliders. Molded silicon-nitride tips defined by the intersection of three surfaces have also been fabricat ed for AFM cantilevers, The molds for plane-plane-concave tips are defined by two silicon {111} planes and a silicon-dioxide curved surface. By geomet ry, the three surfaces necessarily hare a unique intersection point, which mag improve the consistency in sharpness of these tips relative to conventi onal pyramidal tips.[485].