Recent advances in high-throughput scanning-probe technology

Widespread deployment of scanning-probe techniques in applications such as semiconductor metrology, lithography and data storage requires significant improvements in throughput, achievable resolution and probe and media reliability. One way to improve the throughput and reliability of probe-based devices is to employ an array of probes. However, for parallel operation of several cantilevers, integrated sensing and actuation are essential. Thermo-electric sensors and magneto-resistive sensors are excellent candidates for integrated sensing. Moreover, there is a need for improvements in nontopographical sensing schemes, such as electrical sensing. Finally, nanopositioning is another key enabling technology to achieve very high bandwidth and hence high throughput. Position sensor noise is detrimental to achieving nanoscale resolution at high bandwidth, and several techniques exist to mitigate the effect of sensing noise. Recently developed small-amplitude dynamic-mode techniques are also excellent for array operations owing to their simplicity of implementation. In this paper, we review recent key advances in high-throughput scanning-probe technology.