Microfabrication Techniques: Tips and Sensors

This lecture covers microfabrication techniques for creating nanotips and sensors, including oxidation sharpening, molded tips, and nanoscale MEMS/NEMS. It explains the fabrication of nanotips using etching, oxidation, and deposition processes, emphasizing the importance of standard microfabrication for precise nanoscale features. The lecture also discusses contact modes in scanning force microscopy/atomic force microscopy, forces involved in AFM, capillary forces, and AFM applications in graphene imaging. Integrated sensors and actuators are explored, highlighting the advantages of compactness and parallel operation. The use of piezoelectric cantilevers for high-speed scanning probe microscopy and parallel SPM systems with multiple probes are also presented.