A micro-fabricated scanning force microscope using a 3-dimensional piezoelectric T-shape actuator

Recently, scanning force microscopy (SFM) has gained much attention for its potential in surface lithography and data storage applications, particularly because of its capability for very small bit size. However, there are problems to be overcome before SFM can be used for real practical lithography and data storage, particularly its low throughput. In order to overcome these problems, we need small SFM volumes and simple SFM structures. In this report we propose a micro-fabricated SFM device. We expect it to replace the cantilever, deflection detection unit and the scanner currently being used in traditional SFMs.