Ultra thin films for sensing and heating of microprobes

This dissertation aims to advance the current state of cantilevers with integrated metal thermal and deflection sensing elements. Metallic sensing elements enable the use of alternative substrate materials (such as polymers), that tend to exhibit higher compliance properties and are more robust (less brittle) compared to Si or Si3N4 cantilevers....

Tip-based chemical vapor deposition with a scanning nano-heater

In this preliminary effort, a moving nano-heater directs a chemical vapor deposition reaction (nano-CVD) demonstrating a tip-based nanofabrication (TBN) method. Localized nano-CVD of copper (Cu) and copper oxide (CuO) on a silicon (Si) and silicon oxide (SiO2) substrate from gasses, namely sublimated copper acetylacetonate (Cu(acac)2), argon (Ar...

Hot-spot detection and calibration of a scanning thermal probe with a noise thermometry gold wire sample

Measuring the temperature profile of a nanoscale sample using scanning thermal microscopy is challenging due to a scanning probe's non-uniform heating. In order to address this challenge, we have developed a calibration sample consisting of a 1-?m wide gold wire, which can be heated electrically by a small bias current. The Joule heating in the...

Piezoresistive Probe Array for High Throughput Applications

Microcantilevers are used in a number of applications including atomic-force microscopy (AFM). In this work, piezoresistive deflection-sensing elements are integrated onto micromachined cantilevers to increase sensitivity, and reduce complexity and cost. An array of probes with 5 nm gold ultrathin film sensors on silicon substrates for high...

A piezo-thermal probe for thermomechanical analysis

Thermomechanical analysis (TMA) is widely used to characterize materials and determine transition temperatures and thermal expansion coefficients. Atomic-force microscopy (AFM) microcantilevers have been used for TMA. We have developed a micromachined probe that includes two embedded sensors: one for measuring the mechanical movement of the...

A colorimetric receptor combined with a microcantilever sensor for explosive vapor detection

Substantial effort has been devoted to the synthesis of molecular receptors that can function as chemosensors for nitroaromatic explosives. In spite of several advantages, these receptors suffer from low sensitivity and difficulties translating the response into the gas phase. We have combined tetrathiafulvalene-functionalized calix[4]pyrrole, a...

Characterization of room temperature metal microbolometers near the metal-insulator transition regime for scanning thermal microscopy

Metal microbolometers, used in scanning thermal microscopy, were microfabricated from <20?nm titanium thin films on SiO2/Si3N4/SiO2 cantilevers. These thin films are near the metal-insulator transition regime such that as the film thickness decreases—the resistance increases and the current-voltage characteristics cross over from sublinear to...