100 Nanometer Scale Resistive Heater-Thermometer on a Silicon Cantilever

This paper reports a method to fabricate a 100 nm scale heater-thermometer into a silicon microcantilever based on contact photolithography and a controlled annealing process. The heater is formed during a photolithography process that can achieve a minimum feature size of about 1 mum, while careful control of doping and annealing parameters allows the heater size to be further decreased, to a width of 100 nm. The heater is fabricated onto the free end of a silicon cantilever suitable for scanning probe microscopy, and can be integrated into cantilevers with or without sharp tips. The fabricated heater has a maximum temperature of over 700degC, and a heating time of 56 musec to reach 500degC.