Journal
SMALL
Volume 6, Issue 10, Pages 1140-1149Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/smll.200901673
Keywords
atomic force microscopy; diamond; mechanical properties; nanocrystalline materials; tribology
Categories
Funding
- Directorate For Engineering
- Div Of Civil, Mechanical, & Manufact Inn [0826076] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Directorate For Engineering
- Div Of Civil, Mechanical, & Manufact Inn [0825000] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Directorate For Engineering
- Div Of Industrial Innovation & Partnersh [0823002] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Materials Research
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [832760] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Nanoscale wear is a key limitation of conventional atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes that results in decreased resolution, accuracy, and reproducibility in probe-based imaging, writing, measurement, and nanomanufacturing applications. Diamond is potentially an ideal probe material due to its unrivaled hardness and stiffness, its low friction and wear, and its chemical inertness. However, the manufacture of monolithic diamond probes with. consistently shaped small-radius tips has not been previously achieved. The first wafer-level fabrication of monolithic ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) probes with <5-nm grain sizes and smooth tips with radii of 30 40 nm is reported, which are obtained through a combination of micro fabrication and hot-filament chemical vapor deposition. Their nanoscale wear resistance under contact-mode scanning conditions is compared with that of conventional silicon nitride (SiNx) probes of similar geometry at two different relative humidity levels (approximate to 15 and approximate to 70%). While SiNx probes exhibit significant wear that further increases with humidity, UNCD probes show little measurable wear. The only significant degradation of the UNCD probes observed in one case is associated with removal of the initial seed layer of the UNCD film. The results show the potential of a new material for AFM probes and demonstrate a systematic approach to studying wear at the nanoscale.
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