A Si nanopillar grown on a Si tip by atomic force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum for a high-quality scanning probe

We grow a Si nanopillar on a commercial Si tip on an atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilever using AFM in ultrahigh vacuum for a high-quality scanning force probe, and observe noncontact-AFM (nc-AFM) images of Si(111)7 x 7 and Ge deposited Si(111) with the nanopillar. We observe it ex situ by transmission electron microscopy to confirm its growth and crystallinity. The nc-AFM image clearly showed the high performance of the nanopillar as a probe with respect to the spatial resolution, image stability, and reproducibility. This nanopillar growth technique can elongate the lifetime of the cantilever and be applied to other materials. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.