Design of a micro-cartridge system for the robotic assembly of exchangeable AFM-probe tips

Modern processes of micro- and nanofabrication imply several metrology steps on critical dimensions in order to assure and assess device perfomences. Particularly, manufacturing processes of novel disruptive photonic devices and nanoelectronic circuit architectures require improved three dimensional acquisition and visualization techniques for their metrology. Amongst others line width and sidewall roughness are the most important parameters for nanooptical components but the determination of these parameters becomes increasingly demanding, since the continuous shrinkage of these devices demand an even higher lateral resolution of the measurements. The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a common tool for this characterization and a standard instrument for all kinds of research and development disciplines. However, the characterization of three dimensional high-aspect ratio and sidewall structures remains a hardly accomplishable task. Novel exchangeable and customizable scanning probe tips, so-called NanoBits, can be attached to standard AFM cantilevers offering unprecedented freedom in adapting the shape and size of the tips to the surface topology of the specific application. The ultimate goal is the realization of an in-situ exchange of NanoBits within the regular AFM environment. For this, NanoBits have to be provided in a freestanding way, making them accessible for the AFM cantilever. The direct fabrication of such structures is still challenging, hence the robotic preassembly of NanoBits cartridges is proposed, where every cartridge can carry several different NanoBits. Within this paper all components required for the realization of this concept are presented.