Title :
Bulk micromachined tunneling tips integrated with positioning actuators
Author :
Mita, Makoto ; Kawara, Hiroaki ; Toshiyoshi, Hiroshi ; Endo, Junji ; Fujita, Hiroyuki
Author_Institution :
Inst. of Space & Astronaut. Sci., Japan Aerosp. Exploration Agency, Kanagawa, Japan
Abstract :
We have successfully developed an integrated micromechanical system for controlling tunneling current. A pair of nanoscale tunneling tips have been integrated with a silicon micromachined electrostatic actuator of high-aspect ratio. The tip sharpness has been observed to be as sharp as commercial tips by scanning over surface of carbon graphite as an atom scale. We have also succeeded to observe the tunneling current in the air and in the vacuum condition (in TEM).
Keywords :
etching; microactuators; scanning tunnelling microscopy; tunnelling; bulk micromachined tunneling tips; carbon graphite; commercial tips; deep-reactive ion etching; electrostatic actuator; high-aspect ratio; microactuators; micromechanical system; nanoscale tunneling tips; positioning actuators; scanning tunneling microscopy; tip sharpness; tunneling current control; vacuum condition; Aluminum; Control systems; Current density; Electrostatic actuators; Etching; Microactuators; Silicon; Springs; Transmission electron microscopy; Tunneling;
Journal_Title :
Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JMEMS.2004.838997
